The Shōri
by operaghost11235
Summary: The Akatsuki reveal their plans to capture the Bijū, but standing against them are the Bijū hosts themselves. The nine jinchūriki team up and form a group called "The Shōri", and they plan to fight the Akatsuki with everything they've got. Their motto is "We fight the hunters using the power of the beasts themselves." Akatsuki vs. Jinchūriki fights and training. AU? I don't know.
1. Prologue: Warning

**PROLOGUE: Warning**

**HI! Thanks for reading this, you help a lot. I'm not new to the Naruto fandom I've known Naruto for a long time, but I'd just like to say hi to my fellow Narutards out there. HIIIII! :D**

**This is a story about the jinchuuriki. It wanna boost their popularity! They _are _awesome guys after all. I mean, come on. They're nine kick-butt amazing shinobi with a powerful ally locked away inside of them that could be used to wipe the battlefield in AWESOME.I dunno if this is supposed to be AU or whatever, but, honestly, I have no clue. All I can say is that the jinchuuriki here in this story ARE ALL ALIVE. Even if they died in the Naruto series (when he was twelve) they DID NOT DIE HERE. Pein in this story, (SPOILER) has not yet captured a single Bijuu yet.**

**I don't know if this has pairing too. For now, it has NO OFFICIAL PAIRING. This is just some action-adventure fic. If there _are _pairings, I'll tell you as I go along the ANs. I don't put "sama", "kun", and "san" and "chan" etcetera in my dialogues. I also don't mix my English here with Japanese, but I do use the Japanese names of the villages and the –daime Kage names. Just think of the lines as subtitles in the anime. Oh, and some names have the accented "ō" like "Rōshi" and "Kokuō". I've replaced it with "ou" to make it simpler. So you'll see "Roushi" and "Kokuou". Also the double u (uu) to replace the accented "ū" in "jinchūriki" etc, so that'll become "jinchuuriki".**

**As always, reviews are respected and welcomed warmly. Drum roll, ladies and gents, I present to you my first Naruto fic!**

**Disclaimer: What you want, you can't have. Simple as that, right? **

**PROLOGUE: Warning**

Pein sat on an elongated balcony of a building overlooking the gloomy city of Amegakure. Occasional breezes passed by and went through his orange hair, but none were able to capture a glimpse of relaxation from him. The smell of the winds signaled a strong rain to pass by the village, but he didn't stir. He didn't move. He just sat there with an elbow on an upraised knee, looking down unto the mesmerizing pipe patterns below.

A young lady with blue hair stood a few strides away from him, the winds blowing stray strands of her locks to her face as she swept behind her ears. The breezes became too strong that she even had to struggle to prevent herself from being blown away. She tried to step forward, but before she could move, Pein's voice stopped her.

"Don't come closer…"

Konan sighed then stayed still, letting the winds ruffle her Akatsuki robes. "What troubles you?"

Pein remained completely silent and still as if he didn't hear her.

She had do muster up all courage to call him by his real name and speak again. "Nagato…What…troubles you?"

After a long silence, Pein answered. "I know what keeps me like anxious like this…the Bijuu."

Now it was Konan's turn to stay silent.

"The Akatsuki haven't even captured a single one!" he thought aloud. "Is that not shameful? A god like me cannot capture a single beast!"

"You _must _have an idea," Konan said. "You cannot give up that easily. The real Nagato I knew never gave up."

Pein took a slow yet sharp inhale, making his shoulders rise in tension and making Konan quiet, instantly regretting saying such. Then after another long pause, he spoke.

"You're right."

He got up and walked towards Konan, not even meeting her eyes, then stopped once his left shoulder brushed against his right. "Gather all the Akatsuki members at the Five Barrier Seal Cliff," he commanded. "Tell them this is a meeting of great importance, tomorrow at dawn. Do not disappoint me."

He walked past Konan and disappeared within the village's maze. She stood still, her eyes downcast. The predicted rain started pouring drizzle on her.

"N-Nagato…" she whispered slowly as she closed her eyes, "N…Nagato…"

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Tsunade sat shocked in her office as she read reports sent from ANBU spies who were scattered all over the Land of Fire. She kept rereading and rereading them, because she couldn't believe what she was reading. But what was printed there was true, and she had to face it.

"The Akatsuki…are back?"

"L-Lady Tsunade?" Shizune stuttered beside her.

Tsunade shut the report scrolls. "Send letters to the Five Kage.

"Regarding what?"

"The Akatsuki are back. And this time they aren't backing down, so…" She put her elbows on her table. "I'm afraid we had to do this, but…"

Shizune's eyes widened. "No. No no no no. Lady Tsunade, we all agreed we wouldn't use that except for last resort! It's too risky!"

"I know!" Tsunade yelled back, leaning forward. "But we can't afford to lose more lives. We have to. Send them letters."

Shizune bowed. "Y-Yes, Lady Tsunade."

X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~X~

Two figures were entering the Land of Fire's forests. One had a brown headgear around his red hair with the Iwa forehead protector, the other with a bright red wide brimmed hat covering his entire visage in shadow, and he had a very tall figure too. They stood in front of the entire canopy.

"Are you sure this is the place?" the first person asked.

"I'm positive," the second person said, lifting his hat a little. He had a very deep voice, compared to the older one which belonged to the first person.

They entered the forest, and continued to travel tediously through the foliage. They ran and jumped and felt like they were running fast, but it was already noon faster than they knew it, and it seemed like they didn't make any travelling progress at all. They were probably lost, heaven knows.

"Are you sure about this, Han?" the first person asked again. "It seems we're just going in circles!"

"Patience, Roushi," the second figure, Han, retorted at him, looking back at the man called Roushi. "I know where I'm going."

"We shouldn't delay this! You know that the Tsuchikage want us to be in Konoha by the end of the—"

"Stop."

Roushi immediately ceased movement as Han said it and held up his hand. He stood on a tree branch while Han stood on a bough not far from him. Roushi was just plain confused as of that moment.

"Oh, Roushi complained, crossing his arms, "so I made you mad now, huh?"

"No," Han said, his eyes darting across the treetops. "I…sense someone."

Roushi put his arms down. He tried to listen for a shinobi, but all there was in the forest was the chattering of squirrels and the loud cries of the cicadas. Nonetheless, the two Iwa jinchuuriki stood still. Roushi slowly reached for a kunai.

Bad mistake.

From the treetops, a burst of sparkling yellow powder flew towards Roushi. He was aware that powder like this had the ability to blind, so he shut his eyes quickly. But he inhaled some of it, giving him a heavy cough. While his eyes were closed and his body was (temporarily) immobilized, a young girl with mint colored hair and yellowish orange insect wings sprouting out of her hips flew towards Roushi from the treetops and tackled him to the ground before Han could even notice. She held a kunai to Roushi's throat and he was still preoccupied by his cough to struggle out.

"Hey!" she threatened. "You better not bring another kunai out again, or I swear, I'll—"

She was tackled by Han to the side before she could even finish. She slammed into a tree, and Roushi got up just in time. He quickly bound rocks around her feet so she couldn't fly away. Her wings vanished into golden powder, and she kept her kunai into her white clothing and adjusted the red container straps criss-crossing in front of her chest. To Roushi and Han, she looked vaguely familiar.

"Hey, wait a minute," Roushi said, still with a slight cough. "Aren't you the girl from Takigakure? Fuu?"

"Uh, _yeah_," she said with extreme "isn't it obvious" in her voice, even showing them her forehead protector which was tied on her right arm.

"So why'd you attack me?" he asked, crossing his arms. "Aren't you supposed to go to Konoha too?"

"Well, yeah, I was," she explained. "But I wanted to know if some people were coming to Konoha too, so I waited. And I thought you were a threat. Sorry."

Roushi sighed and released her feet from his rocks. "You're good to go, I guess."

Han walked up to her and tipped his hat. "My apologies that we weren't acquainted that….properly." Here he held out his hand. "My name is Han, jinchuuriki of Kokuou the Gobi. A pleasure to meet you, Fuu of Takigakure, jinchuuiki of Chomei the Nanabi."

She smiled and shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Han."

"Now c'mon," Roushi said to both of them. "Let's get going."

Han nodded and led the way as Fuu made another pair of wings and flew after them.

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Tsunade entered a room, an interrogation room, with Shizune. It took the Kage a while to see if their plan would be super-ultra-risky or just plain risky. In time, all of the four (three) Kage agreed to the plan. Tsunade counted all the jinchuuiki. There were nine, weren't there? But when she entered the room, she shook her head. There were only five of them there.

"Lady Tsunade.." Shizune tried to speak. "There are only five. Will that work?"

"Maybe," Tsunade said, trying to keep an optimistic spirit. "We have to try. They might add up as we go along." She eyed all the jinchuuriki. "Well? Aren't you going to introduce yourselves to each other?"

Before any of them could protest, a young girl with mint green hair spoke.

"Hey, my name is Fuu!" she said cheerfully. "And I'm Chomei the Nanabi's jinchuuriki!"

The other jinchuuriki sighed and proceeded to continue.

"I'm the Gondaime Kazekage," Gaara said, crossing his arms. "My name is Sabaku no Gaara. I'm the jinchuuriki of Shukaku the Ichibi."

"My name's Nii Yugito," said a woman with blond taut-bandaged hair and a purple blouse and black pants. "I'm the jinchuuriki of Matatabi the Nibi."

"The name's Roushi," a man with a brown helmet like gear on his head said. "My Bijuu partner's Son Goku the Yonbi."

"My name is Han," said a tall man with a wide hat dressed in red. "I am the host of the Bijuu Kokuou the Gobi."

"Five," Shizune counted. "We have five out of nine jinchuuriki."

"Who are the other four?" Tsunade asked.

"Let's see," Shizune said, looking at the papers she was holding. "There's the Sanbi, which has no jinchuuriki. Utakata is a missing-nin from Kiri with the Rokubi is also one. There's the Raikage's brother Killer Bee with the Hachibi, and our very own jinchuuriki."

"Uzumaki Naruto," Tsunade answered.

"Lady Hokage," Fuu asked, "if I may interrupt, what _did _you call us here for exactly?"

"Ah, yes," Tsunade said, returning to topic. She turned to all the jinchuuriki. "Do you people know about the threat known as the Akatsuki?"

Everyone (except Han) stiffened up at the word "Akatsuki".

"Of course we do," the woman known as Yugito finally answered. "I've heard about them. They're a dozen of S-rank missing-nin targeting the Bijuu."

"Why?" Fuu asked.

"To resurrect the Juubi," Roushi answered, "but that's only a theory."

"Well, that's that in a nutshell," Tsunade said. "They're trying to capture the Bijuu from you."

"What did you call us here for, Tsunade?" Gaara asked.

"Well, the other Kage and I had an idea," Tsunade said, then turned to Gaara. "No offense, Kazekage, for leaving you out."

"None taken," Gaara urged a continuation.

"Well, I've talked with the Kage," she said, "and so, we agreed on a last resort plan. Since the Akastuki are more powerful than the usual shinobi, we need shinobi even _stronger _than them to fight them back. And that's you."

"Us?" all the jinchuuriki said at the same time.

"Tsunade, you're not thinking this through." Gaara retorted. "You're putting the jinchuuriki in the most dangerous position they could be in. There's a bigger chance and risk that the Bijuu could fall into their hands."

"Not to offend you, Lord Kazekage," Han spoke, surprising some because he rarely spoke. "But I think that the Hokage is right here. If us jinchuuriki keep hiding away, it'll make us seem weak in the Akatsuki's eyes. If they think us weak and cowardly, they would see us as easier prey. This power of the Bijuu is a weapon used to gain victory, for if nobody could defeat the Akatsuki but us, who will?"

Gaara stayed silent.

"So it's settled then," Tsunade confirmed. "We heed the Akatsuki's warning of the capture of the Bijuu and confront them with nine of the strongest shinobi in the entire Ninja World with the aid of the Bijuu themselves." She put a hand out. "Who's with me?"

Fuu walked towards Tsunade and put her hand on hers. "I'm in!"

Roushi walked and put his hand. "I'm in this too."

Han bowed and put his hand, yet said nothing.

Yugito sighed and put her hand. "For the sake of the Ninja World, Matatabi and I shall cooperate."

Gaara put his hand as well. "I give my cooperation not only from Shukaku and I, but also from other fellow jinchuuriki not present here today."

"We heed the warning," Tsunade finished, "and we shall claim victory. We shall name the group of the jinchuuriki 'The Shouri', which stands for 'victory'. May the hunt be won at the hands of the beasts and their tamers. We fight the hunters using the power of the beasts themselves."

The jinchuuriki repeated her last words as they slowly absorbed their meaning, carving it into their hearts.

"_We fight the hunters using the power of the beasts themselves." _


	2. Konohagakure No Sato

**CHAPTER 1: Konohagakure no Sato**

**Hello! Thanks for the people who dropped a favorite, follow, or a review. It is greatly appreciated. :) Thanks for the pairing suggestions; by the way, I'll **_**TRY **_**to do so. **

**I know I have to update fast since the Naruto fandom's pretty big, and in the time span of like some 4 hours, it's on the third page! WHOA! To my old readers, you should know that I update only once a week, but for this story, I'll update whenever I can as soon as possible. **

**Some more basic clarification. For all the guys and gals who are confused about the Bijuu genders, just know that I'll follow the gender of the jinchuuriki. So **_**all **_**the Bijuu are guys, except for Matatabi, who's a girl. Chomei is genderless. And even if I stated before that I don't use Japanese names, Jiraya comes into the picture here and instead of the English "Pervy Sage", I'll stick to the original "Ero-sennin". Also, Deidara is called "Deidara-senpai".**

**And Naruto's missing, isn't he? Well, you'll see him here. You'll also see more personality of the jinchuuriki. I just love them a lot. :3 **

**I recently watched the movie "Frozen", and all I can say is that's it's great! Oh, and happy thanksgiving. :)**

**Disclaimer: No characters were owned in the making of this fanfiction.**

**CHAPTER 1: Konohagakure no Sato**

Jiraya and a sixteen-year-old Naruto were walking across the forests of the Land of Fire. Naruto was smiling as Jiraya walked beside him.

"Isn't this great, Ero-sennin?" he grinned. "We're going back home!"

He ruffled Naruto's hair. "Yeah, yeah, it's going to be pretty good to be back. But we've been gone for two weeks! Don't forget things have changed."

"Yeah," Naruto kept his head down and deadpanned. "We were supposed to go on some 'special training'." Here he used finger quotations. "Turns out you just needed someone to accompany you to do your so-called 'research'."

The Sage laughed with a perverted grin on his face. "Yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. But that money was spent well."

Naruto scoffed. "For _you_." He suddenly beamed up and brought out a scroll from his backpack. "This is important stuff that Tsunade told me to give you. I got it via messenger hawk, while you were doing your precious 'research'."

Naruto gave him the scroll and Jiraya stuffed it into his robes. "Uh huh, thanks. Oh, and your friend, the Kazekage Gaara, he was said to be in Konoha now." Here he laughed. "He's a Kage! Can't believe it! Looks like your little jinchuuriki pal beat you at your own game, huh?"

Naruto yelled at him. "C'mon, Ero-sennin! It's not like that, I'm just….uh, you know, left behind a bit! I'll catch up to him, I'll become Hokage! I'll show you _and _Gaara!"

Jiraya laughed again and rubbed his hair. "I know that. I'm just messin' with ya, kiddo."

"Hmph," Naruto grunted, a little upset.

Naruto still had a little sense of joy in him, because he knew that the village gates weren't far. Soon, Jiraya and the boy found themselves in front of them. But the sight that greeted them there wasn't one they expected.

At the gate stood Tsunade with five other people. One was Gaara. Another had taut-bandages acting as ties for her blond hair. Beside her was a man dressed in light red with red hair. Next to him was a tall man dressed in bright red with plated armor. The last was a girl in white tight clothes with a red container strapped to her back and mint green hair.

"Hey, Gaara!" Naruto said as he ran to him. "Wait, uh, who are these people?"

He sighed and crossed his arms. "That I'll have to explain."

Tsunade called for the Sage. "Jiraya, can I talk to you for a second?"

Jiraya and walked to Tsunade and they kept their voices down slightly and conversed while Naruto was too busy being introduced to the other jinchuuriki. He seemed oddly fascinated to see people like him in his own village, and Jiraya and Tsunade looked at them while they talked.

"Did you get my scroll? My message?" she asked.

"Yes," he said confidently.

Tsunade's face turned to annoyance. "Really? What did it say?"

Jiraya tried to make-up what the letter said, but he knew Tsunade would get mad at him. It was better that he told her the truth. "Well…" he said sheepishly, "I got it, but I didn't read it…"

Tsunade's expression darkened. "Why?"

Jiraya was suddenly very nervous and worried, and he felt a lump form in his throat. "I was….uh….busy, you know."

Tsunade looked like she was going to punch him, but to his surprise, all she did was sigh, letting all her anger out. "Forget it. I'm too merciful now to get mad at you."

Jiraya silently breathed a sigh of relief and got to the point. "So what about the scroll anyway?"

"How many pupils have you had in your life including Naruto?"

He tried counting. "Five, but that's not the point. What do you want?"

She sighed in exasperation. "Look, can you do me a favor?"

"Still not getting to the point."

Tsunade looked like she was going to pull her hair out, then she sighed. "Okay, so the Akatsuki are targeting the Bijuu, but that's pretty much old news to you now. The plan now is to use the Bijuu against them."

Jiraya chuckled. "That's a pretty bad idea, Tsunade. Have you thought it through enough? There's a bigger chance of the Bijuu falling into Akatsuki hands."

Her eyes narrowed. "Well, we have no other choice now, do we? If they can't do it, who will?"

Jiraya smiled. "Pretty good point there. What do you need _my _help for now?

"You were the one who trained Naruto for two years regarding controlling the Kyuubi. If you can do that to him, you can do it to all six of them now."

Jiraya's eyes widened. "Hey, hey, hey, are you nuts? It took me _two years alone _to train Naruto. And they're six! I need to borrow a lot of time from you here."

"You aren't a Sannin for nothing."

"Hmm…Fine."

"So you'll do it?"

"Of course I can do it."

The Hokage sighed in relief. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Jiraya said as he looked at the jinchuuriki and smiled. "As long as they aren't troublesome, they're fine with me."

Meanwhile, Naruto was being introduced to the five jinchuuriki. They gleefully accepted his first impression, even if he seemed obnoxious and exuberant. He was an outburst of charisma, and he seemed like a perfect host for the Kyuubi, or what seemed like it.

"So, wait," Naruto said, recapping. He pointed to each of the jinchuuriki as he said their names. "Yugito, Roushi, Han, and Fuu, right?"

They all nodded.

"Awwwwwwright!" Naruto yelled. "We're gonna be _awesome_ together. I mean, we're jinchuuriki! Imagine all the things we could do together!"

Yugito sighed. "Naruto, I totally love your sense of optimism, but I'm afraid to say that are opponents are the Akatsuki."

"T….the…..Akatsuki?" Naruto stuttered, completely losing his confidence.

He remembered when the Akatsuki appeared in Konoha, he was just twelve and he was going against S-rank criminals. It had been such a frightening experience for him, not to mention that even the senseis of Konoha's eleven had such a hard time dealing with them. Uchiha Itachi and Hosigaki Kisame, their names, were trying to capture it from him, but thanks to Jiraya, he lived to see another day, He remembered Sasuke, and his burning hatred for his brother….

"Don't scare the kid, Yugito," Roushi said, crossing his arms, "He's got the confidence and perseverance we need. Son Goku and I like him."

"Yeah!" Fuu agreed.

"Okay, okay, don't get your tails in a knot," Yugito smiled. "I'm sorry, Naruto."

He smiled his signature grin. "Don't mention it." Here he paused, then counted all the jinchuuriki. "Wait, I thought we would be more than six. We _are _six, right?"

"What?" Roushi asked, confused.

"I mean, look," Naruto explained. "There used to be a lot of us, right?"

"There are," Roushi clarified. "But we're just missing a few.

"Yeah, 'a few'," Fuu said sarcastically using finger quotations.

"Well," Yugito said. "There are nine jinchuuriki. We're six out of nine. We're just lacking three."

"But we're outnumbered," Gaara stated as he crossed his arms. "I mean, we're nine, fighting a group of _ten _S-rank criminals."

"Hey, listen up," Jiraya spoke again, after he finished his conversation with Tsunade. "Who wants to go on a trip?"

Naruto, Fuu, and Roushi raised their hands. Yugito, Gaara and Han sighed and raised their hands as well.

"Alright," Jiraya confirmed with a smile. "Since you're all tired, I'll give you guys some time to kick back and relax at Konoha before you leave late afternoon with me. Come back here at that time, okay?"

"Yay!" Fuu said as she ran happily into the village.

Roushi sighed. "Han and I'll look after her. See you guys later." The Iwa jinchuuriki ran after her.

"Well, that leaves us, huh?" Naruto said to Gaara and Yugito.

"Yup," Jiraya confirmed as he turned his back and smiled his perverted grin. "I'll see ya later, kiddo. I gotta do my research." He walked away into the Konoha gates.

"Pfftt, 'research', he says," Naruto groaned.

"Tsunade," Gaara asked. "Are you sure this'll work? I'm still uneasy about 'The Shouri' idea."

"Positive," Tsunade said with a smile.

"Come, Kazekage," Yugito yelled, walking with Naruto unto the village. "Let's go see the place!"

Gaara sighed and ran after them.

Tsunade smiled. "This is gonna work," she said to herself, "I know it will."

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Yugito, Naruto, and Gaara walked through the streets of Konoha, talking as they did. For Yugito it was strange. No one was treating her like garbage. She never felt that way before, even if in another village. Even if she_ did_ earn respect before in Kumogakure, she felt happy. Even if she and the jinchuuriki had such a heavy burden on their shoulders, some fate-of-the-world-is-in-your-hands business, it felt good to be recognized as a hero. She even smiled as Naruto told his dreams to lead Konoha.

"So you dream of being Hokage, hmmm?" Yugito asked Naruto.

"Yeah!" he yelled. "I wanna be the best there ever was!"

"Well, good luck," Gaara said. "Becoming a Kage isn't easy, that's all I could tell you."

"But still, I could do it," Naruto yelled, locking his hands behind his head. "You'll see!"

Yugito smiled. "Your perseverance is strong. I like that. I'm sure lord Ay would like that too."

Naruto looked confused. "Lord….Ay?"

"He's the Yondaime Raikage," Gaara answered.

"Oh…"

"Hey look! It's Naruto!"

Naruto spun around to find Sakura, Shino, Kiba and Akamaru walk towards him.

"Hey!" Sakura said. "Good to see you again! Yeesh, you said you would only be away days, but you were gone _weeks_!"

"Yeah," Naruto replied, blushing slightly. "Sorry…" He looked around only to see Hinata wasn't there. "Hey, where's Hinata?"

"She's not here," Sakura answered. "She was probably too shy to see you."

Naruto looked confused while Yugito winked at him, catching the attention of the Konoha shinobi.

Sakuro looked at her. "Who's the girl, Naruto?"

"Yeah," Kiba suddenly sneered as Akamaru beside him growled, like some unwanted presence was felt somewhere and they were able to sense it. "Who's the girl?"

"This is Yugito," Naruto introduced. "She's the Nibi jinchuuriki."

"Aha!" Kiba shouted and pointed at her. "So _that's_ where the cat smell's coming from! No wonder!"

Yugito looked confused. "Excuse me?"

"Apologies, Miss Yugito," Shino said, pocketing his hands into his jacket. "Kiba has a strong passion and sensation for anything relating to dogs. Since the NIbi's a cat…well…you get the idea."

"Oh," Yugito realized.

Kiba growled, and, much to everyone's surprise ran towards Yugito and screamed:

"_I can't tolerate the DAMN PRESENCE OF A CAT!" _

Kiba tried to tackle her to the ground, but Yugito quickly somersaulted like a cat would over Kiba's tackle without effort. In midair, her fingernails on her right hand grew at a sharp and long length and she scratched Kiba's back as he tackled nothingness, raking her "claws" into his skin. He fell face-flat on the ground with wounds on his back while Yugito landed perfectly as she somersaulted on two feet. She retracted her fingernails to normal length, and then smiled.

"Looks like the cat wins this round," she said proudly, "hmph."

"Damn it," Kiba groaned.

Naruto tried his best to hold back his laughter while Shino helped Kiba up.

Yugito laughed. "Sorry, I kind of took that as a threat."

Gaara eyed Yugito. "Remind me to never anger you."

Yugito shrugged. "I'll remind you from time to time."

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Roushi, Han, and Fuu ran through another route. Fuu looked around in wonder and awe, dancing and skipping. Roushi looked around, catching Fuu. Han stayed silent, since, usually, he was. Even if the three jinchuuriki were different, they all had the same thoughts as Yugito did.

There were people around them, people who would have discriminated them, called them names, loathed them, but they were here doing nothing and treating them like complete passerby! Was it because their atmosphere changed? Did the Hokage tell them that they weren't a threat? Was it because of The Shouri group they formed? Whatever the reason, they were all satisfied to be like that anyway.

Fuu looked around in wonder of the new village she was in. "This is _amazing_!"

Roushi crossed his arms, but smiled, and a little sarcasm was heard in his voice. "Yeah, _real _amazing."

Fuu was too preoccupied with looking around the village that she accidentally bumped into a Konoha shinobi in a flak jacket, sending her backwards on the floor.

She quickly stood up. "I'm sorry, I am _so _sorry."

The Konoha-nin rubbed his ponytailed hair as he stood up. "Ugh, how troublesome." He turned around and smiled once he saw Fuu. "Hey, you're one of the jinchuuriki."

Fuu politely curtseyed in reply. "Thank you."

In front of him, a girl with long blond ponytailed hair covering her left eye and sporting a purple outfit tapped him on the shoulder. "Come on, Shikamaru, stop fussing around."

"Yeesh," he said in exasperation. "I was just talking to this girl."

The blond girl looked at Fuu. "Oh, you're the jinchuuriki kunoichi from Takigakure."

Roushi and Han, who had caught up with her, looked confused standing behind her. Roushi tapped Fuu's shoulder and said, "Uh, Fuu, who are these people?"

The Konoha-nin with the black hair sighed. "If only Choji were here to see this. Hmph, but he's training with Asuma-sensei."

The girl with blond hair smiled. "Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I'm Ino." Here she pointed at the boy. "This is Shikamaru."

The Konoha-nin known as Shikamaru scratched the back of his neck expressionless and lazily raised his hand as if he expected it to move and wave on its own.

"Well, I'm Fuu," she said. "They're Roushi and Han."

The two Iwa jinchuuriki nodded in greeting.

Ino suddenly squealed. "I can't _wait _to tell to tell Asuma-sensei I saw the jinchuuriki!" She grabbed Shikamaru by the arm. "C'mon, let's go!" She started dragging Shikamaru away as he tried to struggle to no avail. Soon they were completely lost in the afternoon crowds.

The three jinchuuriki stood there uncomfortably and awkwardly. It went to show that being a hero had its perks too. The jinchuuriki took that to meaning; _deep _meaning.

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It was late afternoon, and all the jinchuuriki had left Konoha with Jiraya. According to him, the jinchuuriki would set out to the Land of Lightning bordering to look for a place to stay. But without their knowledge, two people had watched them from the shadowed foliage near the Konoha gates. By the time the jinchuuriki had set off on their journey, the duo who had spied were making their way to the Five Barrier Seal Cliff, walking through the forests. One wore the Akatsuki robes, the other in a black suit with a green scarf and orange swirl mask with one eyehole.

"Hey, Senpai!" the man in the orange mask said. "Thanks for letting me tag along on the spy mission!"

The young man in the Akatsuki robes and blond hair put a finger to his clenched lips and quickly hushed him. "Tobi!" he shouted softly. "Shut up! Quiet! And I didn't want you to tag along. It wasn't my choice anyway."

Tobi's shoulders slumped in disappointment, but he became quickly cheerful again. "Hey, Deidara-senpai! Let's go to a Dango shop later!"

Deidara sighed exasperated. "We can't, for the millionth time! I have to deliver my report." He looked at the mouth on his right hand as it spat out a large lump of moist clay. He closed his fingers over it and sculpted it. Then, in his hands, was a beautifully shaped stag with full-detailed antlers. Deidara smiled at his work. "I could also practice explosions with running deer and horses. It'll be a blast, hmmm!"

Tobi started to laugh uncontrollably. "Did you see your joke there, Senpai? 'It'll be a blast'! HAHA!"

While laughing, Tobi bumped Deidara's arm and leg, making him lose his balance and fall, also shattering his beautiful clay stag into pieces. Deidara looked at the clay shards of what used to be his stag with an open jaw, his arms outstretched, as if trying to catch it in vain. He stood like that on the floor for minutes on end while Tobi just said "Whoops."

Deidara's eyes flashed in fury with his teeth clenched and voice wrapped in anger. "Tobi….you idiot…!"

And the next thing Tobi knew, his hands were tied with rope, forced to hold a dozen clay birds. Deidara walked hastily in front of him, with Tobi's rope in one hand and his "katsu" formation on the other, ready to make the clay birds explode in Tobi's hands explode. Well, no day was pretty much perfect with _him _in the organization.

As they drew nearer to the Five Barrier Seal Cliff hideout, Deidara simply hoped his reward for his report that the jinchuuriki collaborated was worth the trouble Tobi caused him.


	3. Shukaku the Ichibi

**CHAPTER 2: Shukaku the Ichibi**

**So, HIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!**

**Another slow update. Whoop-de-do. This, I guess, is pretty much shorter than the two other previous chapters, and that last one was pretty much filler, so to say. Thank you for the pairing suggestions, as always. I shall **_**TRY**_** to fulfill your suggestions. As always. And I noticed something. I've been spelling "Jiraiya" wrong all my life! It's been spelled "Jiraya" previously! I never knew that! My life is a lie. **

**Oh, and I have bad news. My exams are coming. So, I might be leaving this story for a week. Sad…but not to worry! I posted this chapter to keep you occupied for a week or so. ;) **

**A little Akatsuki debut here. And, judging by the title, this is Gaara's star moment. I shall wait for the fangirl reviews. And one thing pisses me here though. In the chapter navigation up there and down there, this chapter is labeled as "3. 2: Shukaku the Ichibi". Not to mention that Shukaku is the frikin' ONE TAIL. And NONE OF THE NUMBERS SAY ANY 1. Pisses me off more than I think it should. **

**And in response to my reviewers, all your questions will be answered as the story goes along. Oh and to spartan593, this is the third chapter I posted already. :D Expect this story to go a **_**long **_**way. **

**The next following chapters will be regarding the relationship with each of the jinchuuriki with their Bijuu. Specifically. **

**Disclaimer: Does it look like I own anything? No, it doesn't. **

**CHAPTER 2: Shukaku the Ichibi**

"Very well done, Deidara." Pein said as Deidara gave his report. He tossed him a bag full of extra explosive clay, which the young Akatsuki member kept eagerly into his robes.

All the Akatsuki members (and Tobi) were sitting in a circle inside the Five Barrier Seal Cliff hideout. Pein sat in ponder as Konan looked at him, full of concern.

"Nagato?" she asked. "What do you plan?"

Pein's blank expression turned towards a young man with jet-black hair and Akatsuki robes. The man was aware that the Rinnegan eyes of Pein looked upon him, and he sincerely bowed his head ever slowly.

"I need you," Pein instructed, "to spy on them. Cover yourself in a genjustu then tail them without being detected. Do this properly, for I cannot afford a mistake."

The man gave a subtle nod of his head.

"Remember," Konan reminded. "There are six Bijuu you're dealing with. Not to mention the most powerful, the Kyuubi, is among them."

"I know," the man replied. "I met his jinchuuriki once."

"Really?" Hidan asked. "What's he like?"

"Brash," the man replied, closing his eyes. "Noisy and stubborn. I can assume from there that the Bijuu is like that as well, only more formal and having high pride."

Hidan's partner, Kakuzu, silently laughed. "His jinchuuriki sounds a lot like you, Hidan."

"Oi!" Hidan threatened, clenching his fists.

"Enough," Pein hushed. He looked to the man again. "Do not fail me, Uchiha Itachi."

Itachi opened his eyes, which were now printed in red Sharingan. "I shall not."

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"Finally, a town!"

Naruto ran towards a nearby town lying near the bordering of the Land of Lightning and the Land of Fire. It was a quiet little town which had a few restaurants, a small amount of houses, some shops selling shinobi equipment, and a handful of inns and bath-houses. Jiraiya sighed and walked after the boy while the other jinchuuriki trailed behind him.

"C'mon!" Naruto yelled as he looked back at them and continued to run ahead. "Hurry up!"

Naruto wasn't looking where he was going, so he accidentally bumped into a man, making them both collapse. They both fell to the ground so hard, Naruto had to rub his sore head.

"Owwww…" Naruto groaned. "Hey, watch where you're going."

"Sorry, man…" the guy replied.

The man stood up and dusted his grey pants. Naruto stood up and looked at the man's face, and couldn't help noticing that he saw him before. His young visage, shoulder-length black hair and blackish-grey outfit with shinobi sandals all seemed too familiar. Even his eyes, which were black, triggered Naruto's memories.

"Uh, hey," Naruto said, curiously. "You look pretty familiar. Have I seen you before?"

"Really?" the man replied, shocked. "No, of course not,"

Naruto started to ditch his beliefs that he saw this guy before. Was it just his mind playing tricks on him? But Jiraiya and the jinchuuriki were beside him when the man spoke.

"Uh, kid," Jiraiya said to Naruto, "who's the guy?"

"I don't know!" he protested.

"The name's Yudai," the man said. "I was just wondering around town I bumped into this boy. My sincerest apologies. As an apology gift, I would like to invite you at an overnight stay to a bath-house for free."

Naruto knew what was about to happen while the other jinchuuriki looked curiously at his deadpanned face. "Ero-sennin…..I know what you're thinking…"

Jiraiya ignored Naruto's complaint asked, "That depends, is there mixed bathing?"

"Ero-sennin!"

"Of course there is," Yudai replied.

"Apology accepted," Jiraiya said.

"Alright then," Yudai said. "The spring is just outside of town. I'll see y'all there tonight." After he said this, he ran into the forest.

Wait, was it Naruto's imagination, or did he see Yudai's eyes glow red….was that Sharingan? No way, it was probably his mind playing tricks on him again. Or…was it?

Gaara pinched the bridge of his nose. "I assume you were after the mixed bathing?"

Jiraiya chuckled to himself. "Well, shinobi need some downtime, y'know."

"Ugh," Yugito groaned in disgust. "Can we just do something _real _now?"

"Fine, fine," Jiraiya said, exasperated.

"Hold on," Fuu halted, "what're we going to do?"

"Since we only have six out of nine jinchuuriki," Jiraiya explained. "We're going to have to let you communicate with your Bijuu, talk to them or try to negotiate them to help us. Do whatever you can to maroon them to our side."

"Question is," Yugito asked. "How do we do that?"

"All we have to do," Jiraiya answered, "is go to a place where I can sense your Bijuu chakra at its height, or, in simpler words, a place where your Bijuu likes its surroundings. And that's where you'll talk with the beast. Because if it's just any place, your Bijuu chakra'll go berserk, and it'll erupt out of your body, sooner or later, your Bijuu'll start rampaging all over the place. Believe me; you don't want that to happen."

Some jinchuuriki shuddered at the thought.

"So," Roushi remarked. "Who'll we start with?"

Everyone was silent, because each jinchuuriki wanted someone else to volunteer. Everyone stayed silent for some two minutes before Han spoke.

"Well, to be honest, it had always been a universal truth that everything starts with the number one."

When he said this, everyone looked at the Ichibi jinchuuriki. Gaara nodded subtly.

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"Yup, it's here." Jiraiya said.

It was late afternoon, and the six jinchuuriki (and Jiraiya) were sweating underneath the scorching sun. They were walking across the Lightning Desert. Jiraiya's words gave relief to the jinchuuriki, since they knew that they would be stopping. Roushi made a rock dome that looked like it was cut in half so that the jinchuuriki and the Sage could be given shade. After five minutes of rest, Jiraiya walked out of the dome and called Gaara out, and he began to meditate while the other jinchuuriki watched in anxiousness. Gaara sat in meditation position with his hands on his lap and his eyes closed. Jiraiya sat in front of him, holding a paper tag with circle inscriptions and the Kanji for "Seal" (印) on it. Gaara's Ultimate Defense sand swirled out of his gourd and formed a dome of sand around the two, as to provide shade. The desert gave soft winds, billowing small grains of sand across the barren landscape of rock. The jinchuuriki patiently waited in Roushi's half-dome.

"You think he's okay?" Fuu asked.

"I don't know." Roushi answered, and then he turned to the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. "Hey, Naruto, I heard rumors before that you fought the Ichibi before. Is that true?"

"Yeah," he replied blankly. "A few years ago."

"Really?" Yugito asked. "What was it like?"

"Well," Naruto said, deep in thought. "The Kyuubi always told me that the Ichibi was the weakest beast. But I can tell you that the Kyuubi was wrong. He's more powerful than I thought."

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Gaara suddenly found himself in the middle of a desert. It didn't look familiar to him because it was a desert that seemed to stretch on infinitely. There was a sandstorm brewing too, but it was quite light and didn't sway him, it only meant to tussle sand around and cause winds. Even if it was soft, he wasn't even able to see what was in front of him; all he could see was a large dark silhouette shaped like a cube rising out of the dunes a few yards away from him. He sighed and walked towards the figure while the sandstorm winds pushed him closer to it. The only sounds he could hear were occasional low sounding animal growls, his footsteps on the sand, and the howling winds of the sandstorm. He was midway until he heard a voice coming from the figure. It was a deep and ominous voice with a creak and twist in its tone. Each word of sarcasm sent a shiver down Gaara's spine.

"You've come. How nice of you to visit me."

Gaara sighed, letting some his nervousness out, and walked before the large figure. It was so large that he had to look up slightly to look at the eyes of the creature caged within the cube. Gaara said its name ever slowly:

"Shukaku….the Ichibi."

Gaara stood in front of a large cell, the cube, made out of sand which rose above the dunes. It had flat surfaces all around it, save for the one Gaara was facing, which was sealed by prison bars. A small sealing tag with an image similar to the seal on Gaara's stomach printed on it was placed on the prison in the middle, which was thicker to act as some kind of gate junction. Even if the inside of the cell was pitch black and humid, a large snout of a tanuki emerged from the dark. It had a large mouth and dark patterns around its sandy-brown hide, and also large hands which had four clawless yet sharp fingers and one thumb, which were placed underneath its head like some headrest. Its yellow eyes were glowing in the dark. They had a unique pattern on them: a black cross at its center with four dots around it. Those eyes looked at Gaara in wonder and curiosity.

"What have you come for, Sabaku no Gaara?" Shukaku asked with his deep croaky voice that made the hairs on the back of Gaara's neck stand up.

"You know exactly what I've come for," Gaara answered, crossing his arms. "You're a Bijuu after all."

Shukaku chucked, which wasn't even supposed to be classified as a chuckle. It was a high-pitched laughter, a cackle, and a tongue clicking. Gaara shivered in both fear and disturbance. "Ah, Gaara," Shukaku finally said. "You please me...and yes, I know what you want. But I want you to say it again."

Gaara sighed; he knew he had to be patient with Shukaku and so he said, "I plead from you, Shukaku the Ichibi, to cooperate with me, your jinchuuriki, Sabaku no Gaara, to defeat the Akatsuki who wish to capture you and use you for your power."

After a long silence, Shukaku said, "And how do you plan to defeat them? What assistance do you need from me?"

Gaara knew he had to make something up quick, so he blurted out, "You lend me your chakra, and I'll lend you mine. We cooperate as Bijuu and jinchuuriki."

Shukaku stayed silent again, and then shook his head and clicked his tongue. "Shame on you Gaara. This is one of the countless things I'll give to you. You're so dependent on _my _help."

"Excuse me?" Gaara retorted, anger heightening in his voice. "All you've given me all my life was nothing but loneliness and hatred and a childhood bathed in blood! You've given me nothing else! What else have you handed to me besides repetitive feelings of misery and sorrow?!"

Shukaku grinned, and it was such an eerie smile that made Gaara's skin crawl and regret form in his subconscious. "You don't know what I've given you, you pathetic little brat."

Gaara tried to keep an adamant attitude, but on the inside, he was extremely terrified. "Really? Like what?"

"If I didn't come into your life," the beast said, "you wouldn't have been alone, and you wouldn't have met your little jichuuriki friend Uzumaki Naruto."

Gaara was about to protest, but the beast was right. It was Shukaku who brought Naruto into his life. Gaara had no other choice but to stay silent. Since he had nothing to say, Shukaku continued with his crazy madman laughter.

"You little pest. I have another reason: if it wasn't for my power, you wouldn't have become Kazekage."

Gaara clenched his teeth and fists.

Shukaku roared again in laughter. "Now, there are more than that, but they would be too long to enumerate. These countless things are things you still owe me." The Bijuu shifted his resting position inside his tight cage. "Get out of my sight, you useless boy."

Gaara did not move, and after a long silence, he said, "Do you want yourself freed, only for a short while to taste the air outside your cage, and then abruptly caged again by people who are strict and cruel and abusive?"

Shukaku looked at his jinchuuriki like he was the dumbest person in the world. "What? Of course not! What are you, stupid?"

"Well, that's _exactly _what the Akatsuki will do to you once they have you," Gaara looked intently at Shukaku. "They will imprison you and use you against your own will. You will become their puppet."

Shukaku snarled. "And what happens to me?"

"You will join the other Bijuu and become the entity you once were: the Juubi." Here, Gaara's eyes narrowed. "A pity for a Bijuu like you to be captured. It's a shame that you'll never be able to surpass the Kyuubi…."

Here Shukaku lowered his head so he could look at Gaara eye to eye, and at the word "Kyuubi", the Bijuu's eyes grew fiercer. "And so what? Once I give you my power, humans like you just abuse it anyway. You'll take advantage of me."

"I do not wish to take advantage of you, but use your power so I can fight with you side by side."

Shukaku laughed, or more likely, cackled. "You have me convinced, Gaara. I shall acknowledge you just this once. You have received some of my trust."

"Since you trust me now," Gaara said, "would you mind joining our jinchuuriki alliance? The Shouri?"

"Did you not listen to me, you imbecile? I said you have received _some _of my trust. I cannot trust you fully yet."

"Then when can you?"

Shukaku looked at Gaara then grinned. "When the time comes, Sabaku no Gaara, when the time comes."

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Gaara's eyes shot open, and he felt fatigue hit him then and there. He collapsed on the sand of the Lightning Desert, breathing heavily. Jiraiya clicked his tongue as he put the back of his hand to Gaara's forehead.

"The Ichibi sucked most of his chakra," he said. "And it was a lot, too."

"We should get back to the town," Yugito said, crawling out of Roushi's dome and looking at the setting sun. "It's getting late."

"Yeah," Roushi agreed, crushing his rock dome, and then turning to Gaara. "What did the Ichibi say, Kazekage?"

Gaara sat up groggily and spoke in between pants. "He….he said….he said he didn't…..want to…..to cooperate…..right now…."

"Well, isn't that just _great_?" Naruto rolled his eyes and helped Gaara stand up by putting the Kazekage's arm around his shoulder.

"Don't give up yet," Yugito said. "Perhaps some Bijuu will be willing to help us."

Fuu nodded optimistically while Roushi helped Naruto by supporting Gaara's other side. The jinchuuriki were walking towards the forest until Jiraiya suddenly snorted in laughter.

Naruto deadpanned. "Ero-sennin….it's the bath-house, isn't it?"

"What?" Jiraya said, still laughing. "It's been a long day, kid! Let's go!"

Gaara coughed, annoyed, while Roushi shook his head. The sun had already vanished, but everyone knew that they had made at least a little progress that day.


	4. Matatabi the Nibi

**CHAPTER 3: Matatabi the Nibi**

**MY EXAMS ARE OVER. YESSSSSSS. THAT MEANS MORE TIME FOR THIS BELOVED STORY :) Sorry for keeping you guys at waiting. Oh, and I'll be gone for another week or so, but expect the next chapter after New Year….so MERRRRY CHRISTMASSS! AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR.**

**Oh, and I'm writing a MadaraXOC fanfic YAAAAAY. Because, let's face it, the guy needs a love-life. He seriously needs one. And I'm sorry, fangirls. Really sorry. Expect it to be posted together with this one's next chapter. :)**

**When I first wrote this chapter, like I always do, I write the first draft on paper. I didn't finish the paper version, so this one might be a little rough. And to make it worse, the first typed draft WAS DELETED. So my apologies if you see any misspelled words and proofreading errors. I'll be pretty sure there are a lot here though. :/ I'm sorry if I post late after this. You'll probably see the next chapter in a week (I CAN'T MAKE ANY PROMISES). **

**I was pretty happy writing this, since Matatabi's the only girl in the Bijuu group. And Yugito's the bold independent kunoichi that I always saw as ultimately sharp and strong. I love them together! They're a fun cat-duo. :) And Jiraiya lacks pervy-ness….the thing that actually makes Jiraiya "Jiraiya". You'll love him here. **

**Extra special long chapie for you guys here, for the long wait. :) So, here we gooooo. **

**Disclaimer: Nothing owned, so nothing has been harmed. **

**CHAPTER 3: Matatabi the Nibi**

Right as the jinchuuriki went into the bath-house, night started to rein the skies. In Konoha, it was night as well; a dark blanket of blue studded with stars and a crescent moon replaced radiant colors of sunset. No matter how dark the sky was, Konoha would always remain radiant because of its bright city-like lights. Shinobi and other common pedestrians and passerby treated it like a normal night, going around shopping sprees, eating out at canteens, or even just taking a lovely night stroll. Everything was calm, and even winds from the east soothed souls.

Tsunade sat nonchalantly in her office, her head propped up against her elbow-supported left arm. Her right was holding paperwork and she signed them, reading of what appeared to be contracts and treaties and mission reports and files. All of a sudden, Shizune burst through the door, carrying three scrolls that seemed to be very important. She bowed politely then set them on the table.

"These came in, Lady Tsunade," Shizune said as she put them down. Tonton at her feet gave an "Oink" in approval.

The Hokage scanned the scrolls. Each of them was bound in a different container than the transparent ones that usually came from reports. One was in brown, another yellow, and a blue one. The emblem printed on each of them was different too. The brown one bore the symbol for earth or soil (土), the blue one for water (水), and the last, which was yellow, with the emblem for lightning or thunder (雷). Tsunade took one look at them, and she knew who they were from. Her eyes widened.

"There was a message with it that said that it was for your eyes only…." Shizune said.

"Yeah…" Tsunade replied. "Thank you, Shizune. And bring me tea."

"Y-Yes, Lady Tsunade," Shizune stuttered, bowed then left the room.

Tsunade hesitated, but she had no choice but to read and know what was in them anyway. They were letters from three of the Five Kage after all. She requested them a few days ago, and Gaara was writing his just about now. She wondered which one she should read first, so she looked away and picked one at random.

The first she picked up was the blue one, the one with the water symbol (水) on it. Letter from the Mizukage, huh…..now, who were the jinchuuriki from the Land of Water….? That's right, the missing-nin Utakata and the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura. None of them have come. Wonder what the Godaime Mizukage Terumi Mei had to say about this.

With great hesitation in her mind, Tsunade removed the scroll from its blue container and read its content.

_The Godaime Hokage Tsunade,_

_My finest of salutations to a fellow Kage. It's been a while ever since I wrote a letter to one, and I have you in my thanks for giving me this opportunity. It was a truly enjoyable experience, being together with the other Kage in meeting. _

_So, regarding the jinchuuriki. The Land of Water has two, as you know. Utakata, and my predecessor, the Yondaime Mizukage, Yagura. Utakata is a missing-nin who houses the Rokubi, and Yagura, a young Mizukage, who holds the Sanbi. My information of these people is very scarce, even with the hunter-nin and ANBU information I was able to retrieve. _

_Utakata is, as mentioned earlier, a missing-nin from here. His master and sensei was known to be a shinobi named Harusame. For reasons I cannot fathom, he has left the village and killed his own master in the process. Many hunter-nin have been sent to kidnap him, but their missions always go unsuccessfully. With this, they've gathered his information about his justu. He uses Water Style, bubbles, more apparently, that explode at his will. He specializes in poison, sometimes stuffing it into his bubbles and letting them explode too, immobilizing his target. Other information about this is apparently unknown. _

_Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage, has an even vaguer background and description. He became Mizukage between the ages of 11-13, although I can't be certain. Since he earned the title of Mizukage at a young age, I can assume from here that he was exceptionally powerful and a prodigy at his jutsu, and, since he's a Mizukage, he probably has Water Style as well. He was depicted as carrying a hooked staff with a green flower propped up on it, although the purpose of this tool was rather unknown to most shinobi. _

_For now, that is all the information I have gathered. I shall search for more and send another letter to you once again had I found other info. "We fight the beast hunters using the power of the beasts themselves." Best of luck to the Shouri and the Toad Sage on their mission. _

_Until then, Tsunade. _

_Terumi Mei, the Godaime Mizukage_

Tsunade sighed, put the scroll back, then picked up the brown one with the symbol of soil (土) on it. The Tsuchikage. The Tsuchikage was probably on-board with "The Shouri" idea, figuring that he was able to give both his jinchuuriki to Tsunade. Turns out he was pretty confident that they'd win this, and probably, they might as well win. Again, Tsunade read it.

_The Godaime Hokage,_

_Greetings! I would like to take this opportunity, as you required from me, to explain the abilities of the jinchuuriki from Iwagakure. They're only two, Roushi and Han._

_Roushi was a jinchuuriki of the Yonbi for over forty years, and was one of the rare people to master the power of his Bijuu. When he asked that he leave the village to train with his Bijuu, I said no, fearing that he would risk it going into Akatsuki hands. When he finally gained my approval after so long, he came back with full mastery over the Yonbi and a new Kekkei Genkai, the Lava Release, which is a combination of Earth and Fire Style. I had to say that I was impressed. I never denied anything from him again. He turned out to be quite the shinobi. _

_Next is the jinchuuriki of the Gobi, Han. He was a silent and broody fellow, and he didn't seem to socialize with anyone, apparently, and he liked to meditate alone in his childhood. He escaped from his village at one point on his life, and he, also with Roushi, harnessed the power of his Bijuu. He also crossed paths with Roushi once too, seeing that the two were very close to each other when they came back. _

_I hope that they remain safe in Jiraiya's care and that they can control their power even more than I imagined. Best of luck to you and the rest of the jinchuuriki! We can win this, because we have the Bijuu on our side. We can't afford to lose._

"_We fight the hunters using the power of the beasts themselves."_

_Ohnoki, the Sandaime Tsuchikage_

Tsunade shut the scroll again. She sighed again and put the scroll back as she put it aside with the Mizukage's. There was one left. They yellow one with the thunder seal (雷). And it was addressed from the Yondaime Raikage. He only gave one jinchuuriki, oddly, and it was Yugito, the Nibi. Even odder, he hasn't given the other one, the Hachibi, probably for overprotective reasoning, figuring that the jinchuuriki was the Raikage's adopted brother. She at least had to know what he was supposed to say.

_Tsunade the Hokage, _

_Greetings. As requested from you, I'll list down the jinchuuriki of Kumogakure and their abilities. _

_The first is Nii Yugito. She's a bold kunoichi who was made jinchuuriki of the Nibi from the age of two. She trained hard, and was able to harness the power of the Nibi and use its power for her will. Little did she speak about her Bijuu, but I feel that both jinchuuriki and Bijuu respect each and one another. She has exceptional Fire Style; using blue flames that scorch whatever target it locks on and spiting them out of her mouth like a hairball. Even Killer B stated that she was a brilliant and amazing kunoichi, and it's odd for B to say that about other people other than himself. _

_The second is my brother, Killer B. He houses the Hachibi, and, as I stated before, my adopted brother. He tends to be as brash and as exuberant and proud as ever. He has this ultimately annoying rap sensibility, but other than that, he remains righteous. He was one of the few jinchuuriki that mastered the Bijuu power. And my recent apologies that I wasn't able to send him. I couldn't because he wouldn't agree to the idea, and that I myself didn't either, being the protective jerk I am. I plan on sending him a few days from now, to where the Sennin Jiraiya and the other jinchuuriki await. _

_I hope we can win this one. We always will with the Bijuu on our side anyway. "We fight the hunters using the power of the beasts themselves."_

_The Yondaime Raikage, A_

Tsunade narrowed her eyes, trying to rest her head and put her hand to her forehead. She was interrupted when Shizune brought her tea proper up on a tray.

"L-Lady Tsunade?" she stuttered, bringing in a tray with a cup placed on it.

"Shizune," she said, "bring me stationary for the Five Kage, the one with the red container."

Shizune briefly bowed, then returned with three of these red cylindrical containers bearing the emblem of fire (火) on it. Inside were sheets of paper, like what the three other Kage had. Tsunade requested Shizune to leave, unraveled the scroll and twiddled and played with a brush on one hand, thinking of what to reply.

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"Ero-sennin..."

Naruto groaned, exasperated. He tried to look through the small crack in the wooden wall that separated the male bathing with the mixed bathing. Naruto was able to see the Sage laughing with his face red in the steaming pool, cloaking and putting his arms around giggling naked girls.

Of course.

Naruto just groaned again. He knew it. No matter what Jiraiya would agree to, there would always be some of his "research" in their quests and missions or whatever for that matter. Then images flashed before his mind. He remembered that village, Yugakure...some hot-spring village tourist spot. He was extremely dissapointed that Jiraiya and Naruto didn't do _anything_, but stay in the bath-house because Jiraiya had to do "research". Even way before this, when he was twelve, he remembered that Jiraiya also took him to train him to do the Rasengan. They went to a town, and he even remembered that moment when Jiraiya spent all his money in Gama-chan, which was all his mission pay, for his own pervert beneficiaries. Naruto spent days trying to master the balloon technique, the rubber ball technique, and finally mastered the jutsu. Jiraiya _did _help him, but Naruto still couldn't forgive him for lollygagging around with a bunch of ladies that helped him in his "research". It was unforgivable, but Jiraiya was Jiraiya, and he had to get used to it soon anyway.

Naruto deadpanned at his thoughts. The sliding door of the pool's entrance opened, and it was Roushi standing at the doorway, dressed in a light-red kimono-like shirt with his mesh outfit beneath it, also sporting grey pants and the shinobi sandals with his headgear off.

"Done yet kid?" he asked.

"I was done a long time ago…" Naruto said as he got out of the pool and wrapped a towel around his midriff.

After Naruto put on a white bath-robe and got his clothes, slippers, and headband, Roushi guided his up to their room. The two jinchuuriki walked into a dinner, where Gaara, Fuu, Yugito and Han (who apparently wasn't eating) were at a table with rice, tempura, takoyaki, teriyaki and tekkadon.

"Is the Sage done yet?" Yugito asked, obviously exasperated.

"Barely," Naruto said as exapsirated as she was as he sat at the table and took chopsticks and a bowl of rice.

"Is he always like that?" Roushi asked, sitting opposite as Naruto.

"Yeah," Naruto said as he stuffed a teriyaki into his mouth with rice. "Ever since I could remember."

Roushi laughed. "You have one hell of a sensei, Naruto…." He sighed then reclined. "Can't believe it, a pervy shinobi like _him _supposed to be one of the Sannin."

"You have to admit though," Gaara said, putting his hands on the table. "He's seen to be a powerful shinobi."

"Yeah," Naruto said again.

"Who's next in line?" Fuu asked. "I mean, for the 'Bijuu consultation'." Here she used finger quotations.

People waited for a volunteer until a "Me" chorused from a kunoichi. It was Yugito, raising two fingers and stuffing a tekkadon piece in her mouth.

"You have a cat as a Bijuu," Gaara said, crossing his arms. "You should have it easier than I had. I have a psychotic tanuki as a Bijuu anyway."

Yugito stroked her chin in thought then said, "Any advice you could give me, Kazekage?"

"Only one piece of advice," he said. "Stay to your goal. Bijuu'll do anything to knock you off your guard and sway you off your goal."

Yugito nodded and stuffed another bite of tempura in her mouth.

Naruto grinned and said, "Good luck, Yugito!"

Yugito just had to grin back.

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The next morning, the jinchuuriki woke at the break of dawn while the entire town was asleep. They checked out of the bath-house and set off to a location of a near-border town, except this one was at the Land of Lightning. It was dusk when they reached it and they went to find a place for Yugito to meditate afterwards. And guess what…..it was night when they found it.

The Sage and the jinchuuriki were climbing a small mountain; too tall to be called a hill and too small to be called a mountain. Jiraiya held out a lamp in front of him while the jinchuuriki followed, hiking up a narrow mountainside path that led to a graveyard close to the summit. There was a cottage in the graveyard which housed an old stone-cutter and his wife, and they welcomed the tired shinobi into their home with some bread and tea. They all sat at the veranda of the cottage, which was lit by lanterns, looking towards the eerie graveyard while they conversed with the house hosts. Jiraiya, after eating his bread and drinking his tea, he got light from a lantern of the veranda, lit his lamp, stood up and picked it.

"Yugito," he called. "Are you ready?"

Yugito, who was just finishing her tea, nodded with hesitation and stood up to follow the Sage through the graveyard. As he guided the way into the middle of the eerie landscape, Yugito tried to observe her surroundings, trying to figure out why the Nibi even _liked _this place.

It was dark. A small fog blanketed the area like floating flood, clear enough for you to see the gravestones of the shinobi and innocent civilians who were called to the Other Side. A small round circle of cement lay in the middle of everything, ominously lit by a full moon. It was probably meant for meditation. As they got closer, her stomach started to heat up and cramp and she had to lean forward so that she could be at least a tad bit comfortable. With each step, her senses started to accelerate. Her vision became clearer, her sense of touch more accurate, her hearing sharper, and she felt her muscles tense. She could clearly here the sound of the cicada and cricket night songs, the crunch of dead grass below her feet and even the jinchuuriki conversing in the cottage far behind her.

"Why a c-cemetery?" she heard Naruto obviously stuttering. "I-It's so creepy!"

"Relax, boy," came the voice of the stone-cutter's humble wife. "There's nothing to be afraid of here."

"Well," Fuu said, "it just might be that this place messes with your chakra system."

"Either that," Gaara taunted without expression. "Or he's just scared."

"Hey, I'm not!" Naruto protested.

"Is it because the Nibi likes ghosts?" Fuu asked. "She chose this place after all."

"Not because the Nibi likes ghosts," Roushi clarified, "but because it _is _one."

"Huh?" Naruto asked confused.

"It's just because of rumor," Roushi explained. "Like the Ichibi was rumored to be the spirit of a corrupted Suna priest." She felt Gaara nod. "So the Nibi is rumored to be some monster cat or some ghost, like some kind of fire phantom."

"Cool!" Fuu remarked.

The conversation made Yugito feel uneasy, so she drowned it out. Jiraiya sat on the cement circle and put the lantern at the center in front of him; he asked Yugito sit in front of him. She felt nervous for reasons unknown, and she had to take several deep breaths to calm herself before she actually sat down. Jiraiya noticed that she was nervous.

"Relax," he said. "The sooner we get this done, the sooner it'll be over with."

Yugito nodded, trying to be calm. Jiraiya put the sealing tag on her forehead and she closed her eyes.

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Yugito's eyes shot open. She was in a dark place, it was a large place, and she was sitting on another cement circle. She wasn't in the cemetery; Jiraiya and the other jinchuuriki were gone too. She noticed a path that led from the circle into the darkness forward and it was lined with dead candles on either of its sides. Yugito hesitated greatly. She didn't know where she was or what she was supposed to do, but she felt something inside her tell her to go to the pathway. So with a big sigh and heavy heart, she stood up and put a foot on the pathway. In an instant, they lit in sequence, starting from her position into the far darkness that awaited her. Yugito slowly walked the path of dimly lit candles that cast eerie shadows, and the walk wasn't that long either. The candle path stopped and split into a large circle. Yugito stopped at its sight then looked at the paper tag at her feet in front of the circle. A tag that had an image similar to that on her stomach. A sealing tag. And it was sealing the Bijuu in, so that must mean…..she was standing in front of the prison. Yugito stepped back and felt a sense of dread. Why should she be nervous now? She was a bold kunoichi far great and skilled! There was no way a Bijuu'll sway he off her guard. There was nothing to be afraid of!

That is until a creature stepped out into the light of the candles, so yes, there_ was_ something to be afraid of.

There was a large monster cat standing in front of her with blue flickering flames with swirly black marking instead of fur. It had a pointed snout, a right eye colored yellow, and a left green eye. It had, as the name implied, two tails sprouting behind it and they swished and moved like vines and snakes. It looked very bold among the darkness that surrounded it, and some small flames flickered out of it. Even if it was a cat, it had this certain fear factor to it, like it had some ferocity of a lion.

Yugito had to step back to look at it. Her dread multiplied by the thousands. She shouldn't be nervous, this is her beast! She had to, whether it cost her life or not. She was Nii Yugito, jinchuuriki of the Nibi. She had to. In her mind's eye, she pictured Naruto, smiling, urging everyone forward. Everyone who knew him were either very good friends with him or were changed because of his charisma. She imagined Naruto in her place. If he could to it, so can she. She felt the Nibi sit in front of her and the tag and incline its head slightly to gaze at her. And instead of a look of hunger, it was curiosity plastered on its face.

"Nibi…." Yugito whispered.

"Nibi?" the cat spoke with a female lady-like tone. "Please, my dear, that title is too formal for you to call me. You are my jinchuuriki so you can call me by my name."

"Your name?" Yugito asked. "I always thought they were just called by tail numbers."

"Well, sometimes," the Bijuu said. "Humans like you like to call us by their number because they don't know our true identity."

Yugito stepped forward. "Shall I call you by your name then?"

"Yes, Matatabi…..call me Matatabi."

"Okay…..Matatabi."

"So," Matatabi asked. "What have you come for, Yugito?"

"I think you know," the kunoichi replied.

"I _do _know. This Shouri thing has been heard by me numerous times. I have no reaction to it whatsoever."

"Really?" Yugito put her hands behind her back. "You're a Bijuu. You're one of the people to first have a reaction to it, so to speak."

"Well, I know that you'll try to drag me into it."

Yugito was dumfounded. "How?"

"Persuasive talk. I know you, Yugito. We've been together for twenty-seven years."

Yugito sighed. "Well, it's not much of a job then if you were to accept it."

"I can't guarantee I'll accept." Matatabi lowered her head. "I can trust you, but I can't trust the other Bijuu yet."

"Your point being?"

"My answer will be yes, I _will _join The Shouri. Only if all the other Bijuu will cooperate."

Yugito smiled. It was easy talking to her Bijuu. "Thank you, Matatabi. I will remember your name."

Yugito felt the Bijuu smile.

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Yugito's eyes opened again. She was in the cemetery, and Jiraiya was smiling in front of her. He removed the tag and picked up the lantern. "Well," he remarked. "That was fast."

Yugito smiled. "Thank you. The Ni—I mean, Matatabi—agreed to it."

"She did?" Naruto shouted from the cottage. "That's awesome!"

"I _did _tell you that you would have it easier." Gaara smugly said.

The Sage and the Nibi jinchuuriki walked back to the cottage, where the stone-cutter smiled upon their entrance.

"The jinchuuriki, huh," he said. "Rumors will be spread about you these days."

Jiraiya smiled. "Pretty sure they will, sir." He looked at the jinchuuriki, where Han and Roushi were sitting on the porch looking at him. "So, who among you is next?"

Han looked at Roushi and so did he. After a long silence, Roushi raised his hand.

"Come on!" Naruto groaned. "Why not me?!"

"Because you have the Kyuubi," Fuu said, crossing her arms. "The most dangerous. Best save it for last."

Naruto deadpanned.

As the jinchuuriki thanked the old couple and left the cemetery, the moon had been covered by clouds. Two down, seven to go. Shouldn't be too hard now.

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It was the next day after the meditation of Yugito. Somewhere in the large sea in between the Lands of Lightning and Water, there was a small island full of animal meat, berries, and fresh water in a lake so it can be inhabitable for at least a year or two. There was a hill in the middle of the island, the highest point there. Breezes past the island. It was calm for a long time.

A young man was sitting and meditating on the top of the hill. His disheveled light grey hair was messed by the winds and covered a part of his left eye. Even if they were closed, a stitch scar ran through his right eye all the way to his cheek. He wore a grey shirt and mesh underneath it with the Kirigakure symbol printed in front with a turquoise sash. A large and loose green scarf was wrapped around his neck and a matching cloth was tied around his waist. He wore brown pointed boots and a black staff with a hook and green flower was strapped behind him.

_Yagura…._a voice called in his mind. _Are you there? Sorry to disturb you. _

"_Isobu…not now,"_ he replied.

_I'm sorry, _the Bijuu apologized. _But I have to tell you something. _

"_Make it quick." _

_Okay. The jinchuuriki all over the world are teaming up and forming a group they call "The Shouri". They will unleash all their power upon the Akatsuki and finish them off once and for all. _

"_And how does this interest me?" _

_You remember that man, my boy? The one with the mask? The one who manipulated you? _

Yagura paused_. "His name…..he had no name. He called himself Uchiha Madara. But that isn't possible…the man is dead…" _

_Exactly. He's part of the Akatsuki. _

Yagura's pupil-less pink eyes shot open. _"What?!" _

_Yes! The closer you get to them, the closer they will get to the Akatsuki, and the closer you will get to solving the mystery behind all your delusions. _

"_They are not delusions, Isobu. They are manipulations." _

_But both are slowly corrupting your mind. _

Yagura stayed silent and kept his eyes downcast.

_Join them, my boy. They will help you and you will help them. _

"_I'm not sure…." _

All of a sudden his vision turned blurry and a dark voice resounded in his mind. It wasn't Isobu. It was dark, scary, ominous….

"_Yagurrraaaaa…" _it purred. _"You don't have to…you can stay here in your island paradise…..besides, it won't be your fight anyway…..it's theirs…." _

Yagura tried to grasp his consciousness and he shut his eyes. He grabbed his hair and started tugging at it. "Stop it!" he yelled aloud. "Stop it, stop it, stop it! I am the Yondaime Mizukage…I AM NOT YOUR PAWN!"

The presence of the voice vanished from his mind, and his vision returned again. Yagura took a deep breath and felt the Sanbi in his mind again.

_I told you._ The beast said.

"I know, Isobu," Yagura said aloud.

_So, will you?_

"_Yes. It has to stop. I will help the jinchuuriki." _

No one could drive him off the goal now. He knew he had to return to the Land of Water or Lightning, whichever comes first. He stood up and gathered some berries and squirrel meat, then he ran off into the sea and sped off walking on it towards the mainland, and even farther yonder.


	5. The Missing Ones

**CHAPTER 4: The Missing Ones**

**Okay, so, a filler-ish episode. I don't really know. I needed a break from the jinchuuriki thing, so I decided to put this before the Son Goku and the Roushi debut. So I decided to put it out of synch, BECAUSE IT ALREADY ISSSSS. And I'll just break the system already and let the fabric of the universe rip apart. I'm already too pissed about the numbering to care. :/ I think this is pretty short, I dunno. **

**Roushi and Son will be seen very soon. And it's year of the Horse, so don't expect an update of Han to be too far (it probably will be pretty far…..)! Oh, and by the way, have you seen the Madara/OC thing? I'm working on 2 Naruto stories at once, and I have to do a lot of reading to keep these characters in-character! Phew! Madara's hard to nail, though….**

**Debuts, debuts! Gaara will make a minor (not really a minor) change….in, well, attendance. An Akatsuki battle won't be far from this spot, and you'll see all the jinchuuriki MIA (missing in action) here! As said, "the missing ones" make their appeal more intriguing! And guess who! I wanna make this filler (I think it's a filler) flashy, so let's make this one flashy! **

**Oh, and I almost forgot. HAPPY NEW YEAR. WELCOME, 2014!**

**Disclamier: As badly as I want to own Naruto, I can't and I won't. **

**CHAPTER 4: The Missing Ones**

It was a pleasant noon. The jinchuuriki were walking towards a rocky plateau where Roushi said to have "liked the place just by looking at it". So it was pretty much settled that he was going to meet the Yonbi there. While on their way to the plateau, on a small rock path winding through the forest, the jinchuuriki and the Sage walked, as energized as ever. Jiraiya was walking in the front with Naruto behind him and Yugito following. Behind the Nibi jinchuuriki were Gaara and the young Takigakure kunoichi. The last two people were the Iwa jinchuuriki, Han being at the hind. All of a sudden, Gaara looked down, and suddenly stopped walking, letting even Han walk past him until all the shinobi looked back to gaze at the (seemingly) sulking Kazekage.

"Hey Gaara," Naruto asked. "Is something wrong?"

"…no…" Gaara replied after a long pause.

"Well what's wrong?" Fuu asked.

"It just…something occurred to me all of a sudden…" he replied, looking up.

"Can we help you?" Roushi asked. "What is it you need, exactly?"

"I just realized…" Gaara answered. "…my village needs me."

Everyone stayed silent, until Jiraiya spoke.

"Well, Kazekage, you're done talking with your Bijuu, right? Well, you can. Your village might need you more than we do right now."

Naruto stepped forward. "But Ero-sennin! What if something happens to us, and to him, or even Su—"

"Naruto," Jiraiya hushed, and then he turned to Gaara again. "You can go….but promise me one thing."

Before turning his back on the jinchuuriki, Gaara looked curiously at the Sage. "Yes?"

"Keep in touch with us on your way back to Suna, and even once you _reach _Suna," Jiraiya commanded. "Do you want me to give you one of the toads to accompany you home, just in case?"

Gaara shook his head. "No, it's okay, Jiraiya. I'll be fine, thank you. I'll send you a message through Takamaru, the fastest messenger hawk in Suna. If you want to let me intercede for you to get a message to Tsunade as well, I would be more than pleased."

"Thanks for the offer, Kazekage," Yugito said, giving a nod of her head.

With this, Han raised his hand and touched the rim of his wide-brimmed hat, and then lightly nodded his head; obviously a gesture of respect even with the silence that accompanied it.

"Well, I best be off," Gaara said. "Thank you, Jiraiya and the rest of you jinchuuriki. It had been a pleasure meeting you."

He had his back facing them was about to jump, but words from behind stopped him.

"Hey Gaara."

Gaara turned his head to look at Naruto, who was standing right before the Sage and all the smiling jinchuuriki. He had this look on his face, and saw this look before. It something indescribable. Be it a smirk, a foxy smile, or just some playful grin of some kind, it was this look of defiance, a look of perseverance, a look of such a determined person. It was enough to make Gaara look speechless at the Kyuubi jinchuuriki. It spoke so much, and Naruto didn't even say anything.

"Remember something for me, Gaara….." Naruto spoke. "Never _ever_ give up on The Shouri. Even if you're just far apart from the rest of us, you'll still be with us. It's our fate….we're tied. So please…..promise me you'll come back to us….."

Gaara looked to all the shinobi. Roushi and Han, then to Yugito and Fuu, and then to Jiraiya and finally to Naruto. Gaara knew he was right. He knew he had to, but his village needed him. He had to promise Naruto…at least there would be something keeping them together with the jinchuuriki and the Sage even through distance. There had to be a tie. Even while he was looking after Suna, there would be something he would look forward to every time he was reminded to be a jinchuuriki, something he would remember as bonds to people like him, people treated like him, people who had the same fate as him, the same wants as him, the same dreams as him. He had to.

Gaara spoke slowly. "I…..I….I promise…..I swear on my fate….as a jinchuuriki….."

Naruto's charismatic smile grew into a wide grin, still with defiant light in his eyes, and he put a clumped right fist to his headband symbol, and then to his left chest. He spoke slowly the motto of the Shouri.

"We fight the hunters using the power of the beasts themselves."

The jinchuuriki (and Jiraiya) behind him did the same gesture he did: put a right fist to their foreheads and to their left chest.

Gaara slowly did the same. And his hand stayed to his chest as he slowly said the motto. "We fight the hunters…..using the power of the beasts themselves."

Gaara looked at them, and felt a small smile curve on his lips. They really were fighting hunters using beasts, now weren't they?

He gave another bow, then hastily ran down along the path from which they came.

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_Yagura, stop. _

Yagura halted. He was in the middle of a forest, somewhere close to Kirigakure, at least. It was just forest and trees as far as the eye can see, even if noonday sun cast light all over. The young shinobi looked around him tense, arms at the ready, and his eyes darting around the canopy. He stayed like that for quite a while, heard nothing. What was Isobu doing again? Why the hell was he telling him to stop? There's nothing wrong!

Yagura gave a sigh and spoke silently to his Bijuu. _"Are you playing tricks, Isobu? It isn't funny." _

_No, no, I'm not playing tricks! _Isobu hurriedly replied, as if his connection to Yagura was in time limit. _I swear, I felt something. There's a bunch of chakra close to where you're standing. There are shinobi nearby! _

_"Isobu, be serious and stop. Stop playing around." _Yagura looked around him again. There was nothing! _"Isobu…"_

There was a swooshing sound that echoed behind Yagura. His Bijuu cried out _Yagura! Behind you! _and the young shinobi knew that the Isobu wasn't kidding this time. Yagura spun around, and he was able to sidestep fast enough to dodge numerous needles thrown at him that they nearly pierced his skin. They were able to make a small scar on his arm and scrape a little of the green cloth around his waist. He quickly got to his feet and grabbed his staff in one arm movement. He gripped it tight. The needles came from deep into the canopy, but who threw them?

_I told you, Yagura…._

"_I know, Isobu. I'm sorry." _Yagura took a deep breath. _"Where is the guy now?"_

_Not guy, _guys_. To your left! _

Yagura spun to his left, where dozens of needles flew at him. He quickly flung shuriken to counter them and both needles and shuriken fell to the ground.

"Show yourselves!" Yagura shouted.

Upon command, four ninja stepped out of the canopy. They all looked similar to each other, the only thing differing is their height and hair color, which varied from brown to blond to black. They wore some turquoise kimono-like garment over a brown striped turtle-neck outfit. Their hands were bare, and their ankles were wrapped in bandages and they wore shinobi sandals. They all wore white masks with slits for eyes and swirls in multicolor, each varying for a different person. The symbol engraved on their tops made Yagura stop.

"Kiri…..gakure…" Yagura muttered.

"Who are you to say the village's name?" one of the shinobi said. He seemed to be a boy, judging by his voice and his scruffy black hair.

"Don't you recognize me?" Yagura blurted out, not really aware of the danger that awaited him. "I am the Yondaime Mizukage! Yagura!"

"Yagura….?" another ninja said. She was a girl, no doubt, because of her long blond hair. "The Yondaime Mizukage? No…..he can't be you."

"What...?" Yagura said confused.

"He died…." the third ninja added, a male and the tallest of the four. "He died a long time ago."

"_I…died?" _ Yagura said in his mind. _"No…..who said that?" _"I'm not dead!" he shouted. "Who are you to contradict me?"

"We are hunter-nin from Kirigakure," the tall man said again. "You have no right to speak. You cannot be the Mizukage, you should be dead!"

"But I am!" Yagura yelled. "I am alive and well! As Mizukage, I command you to surrender, and you won't be harmed."

"We cannot guarantee we would obey you," the girl hunter-nin said. "We follow commands of the _new_ Mizukage, Terumi Mei!"

"Terumi….Mei?" Yagura never head the name before. She was probably his successor.

"Whatever the cost," the first hunter-nin said. "We have to take you to Lady Mei for questioning. You have no right to disobey!"

Yagura grew nervous. "N-No! I am the Mizukage! Who are you to lie to me and say I already have a successor when I am still alive?"

"You are stubborn, despite being Mizukage," the tall one said. "You _will _come with us."

Yagura's eyes narrowed, and his teeth clenched. The tall one nodded, and the last hunter-nin threw too many needles for Yagura to dodge. He quickly tried to raise a wall of water using his staff, but the needles did not lose their speed even as they passed through water. They struck his shoulder and stomach, and some lightly pierced his cheek. Some went into his legs and to his waist, until his body was entirely pierced with needles. The pain was light at first, but it grew and grew the more he tried to move.

"_I…sobu….!" _Yagura called out. _"Help…me!" _

_I….I can't! Those needles…..they affected my chakra! They cut off my chakra connection with yours! _

"_What?!" _

Yagura collapsed on the floor, piercing the needles even further into his body. He couldn't move. He dropped his staff, and the hunter-nin walked towards his numb body. They crouched to him, and looked at him before he felt them carry him up on shoulders. As they walked away, he felt his consciousness go away little by little.

"_I….sobu…Isobu…help….me….you know…what to do, right?" _

_I know, Yagura…..I'll try my best. Hold on tight. _

Yagura couldn't bear the pain. His vision blacked out and he saw nothing but darkness.

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Not far from where Yagura was captured, there were also a bunch of hunter-nin, much more than four, for that matter, looking for another jinchuuriki. He was hiding from them, but he knew that he wasn't able to keep this game of "Hide-and-Seek" up. He was going to be found one way or another, and it was even completely useless hiding from them. He'd just be found anyway, like always, and he'd run away and kill a few of them, like always. Why were they following this stupid routine again?

"There he is! We found him! _Get him!_"

Utakata peeked from his hiding place in the canopy, and it was bad enough for him to be found. He quickly fidgeted with his bubble pipe and this bottle tucked into his light kimono and he was able to hold it properly. He made no hesitation to bolt out of his hiding place, giving in more attention from the hunter-nin. They quickly chased after him.

"Damn it…" Utakata muttered.

Utakata twirled his bubble pipe like a baton and held it to his mouth. He faced back and blew dozens of bubbles. Some of the hunter-nin were able to dodge it, but some were unlucky enough to be caught in them like flies in a spider's web. Utakata quickly snapped his fingers, and the bubbles exploded. The hunter-nin inside wailed and they fell unconscious once the bubble exploded. They fell unto the forest floor, lessening the hunter-nin (and the stress). The remaining hunter-nin continued to chase after him. Utakata tried again, this time, with more bubbles, and poison incased in them. He blew again, and this time, he caught all the hunter-nin. He made no hesitation to snap his fingers, and the bubbles collapsed.

He faced front, and he heard the bubbles burst behind him. Oh well, guess that's another failed mission for the hunter-nin.

Once Utakata was far, he stopped and stood at a bough. He looked to the sky and took a deep breath, then thought aloud, "Ugh, I just hope they could stop. This is really a waste of time for me and for them. I wonder why Kiri doesn't realize that."

_Oh, hey, you done? _a voice resounded in his mind. It was haughty and slightly boastful. _You better rest, otherwise you're done for when another attack comes along. _

"I know, Saiken," Utakata replied aloud. "I know."

He sighed and continued to travel onward.

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Killer B sat underneath a tree, eating some berries nonchalantly. He was sent away from Kumogakure just a few hours ago, and it seemed to be noon. What was he supposed to find again? Some group of jinchuuriki? They were called "The Shouri", right? Was he right? Damn it, he should seriously start listening to his brother's instructions more.

_Hey, we better get moving. If you just sit here all day, we'll end up doing nothing! _There was a voice inside B's head.

"Hey, Eight-O~! You gotta stop panickin', y'know~" Killer B said aloud.

The Hachibi sighed. _You seriously have to start feeling panic for once, you know. You were told that we should have to meet the jinchuuriki about three days from now, at the least, even. _

"_Hey, hey, can't you chill~? I'll fix this before ya know it, we'll find some jinchuuriki, for real~!" _

_This better be a good. We _really _have to get going. It'll be hard finding all the Bijuu._

"_Yeah, yeah, this'll be quick~ With your telepathy skills, we'll do this real slick~~" _

_Don't be stubborn, B. It isn't really easy to just contact them like that. You really didn't listen to A, didn't you. _

"_How'd you know, crazy-o~?"_

_Just listening to you rap about slacking off hints out more than anything. _

"_Oh…" _

_We should really get going. _

"_Fine, fine, Eight-O~! I'll be on my way and we'll be ready to go~!" _

B got some of the berries he was eating and ran and sped off. The Shouri, huh, well it wouldn't be _too _hard to miss them all. Plus, the Toad Sage was with them. They would be easy to spot in the crowd. There was really nothing to worry about. B wondered what got the Hachibi all worked up about finding them.

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Itachi finished giving his report to a holographic Pein. The leader of the Akatsuki nodded and looked at all the Akatsuki members inside their hideout.

"Itachi, well done." he said. "At least we know they've broken apart by one. The poor Kazekage doesn't know what he's going to go up against."

"Who wants to go challenge him?" Pein asked. "I decided to be merciful. Instead of choosing you all out by random, I want to see if you have what it takes to volunteer and capture a jinchuuriki by yourselves."

"I'll do it…."

All eyes glared to a man standing next to Itachi. Pein nodded. Guess he really wanted to take this, huh. He volunteered himself anyway.

"Do you really want to do this?" Itachi asked. "Never really saw you volunteer for anything."

"Well, I'll try." the man replied to the Uchiha.

"I wish you the best of luck." Pein acknowledged. "Just come back with him. If you have any info, even better."

"I will try." The man replied.


	6. Son Goku the Yonbi

**CHAPTER 5: Son Goku the Yonbi**

**Hey, miss me? **

**Okay, so I realized that I have to get Roushi into the picture here. I have to continue with the jinchuuriki thing, or I'll never make it to the next phase (it's a secret). Don't worry about Yagura, he's fine…well, ish. You'll see him here, and where he exactly turned up. The other jinchuuriki will come into the picture quicker before you know it. And you know what else? I haven't thought of an ending yet. I don't know who's gonna battle who. I'm **_**that **_**slow. I don't know when the next update will be, but I'm guessing after I post the third chapter of my other story. That's probably next week. But I can't really guarantee next week. I'm just making a lucky guess.**

**Gaara will be fine on his own, but things are gonna turn drastic for him when he's gonna meet _is_ _e _ _s_ _ ga_ _ in an all-out battle. Ha, guess who he is just by the lettering, and I think the battle's gonna be in a few chapters. The Bijuu and the jinchuuriki will get somewhere. You'll see. **

**Thank you for the people who dropped a review or a favorite and a follow. It means a lot, and it encourages me to keep on typing this. Thanks. Oh, random trivia. Both Son Goku and Roushi are the names not only of Bijuu and jinchuuriki, but of characters from another favorite anime of mine, Dragon Ball Z! Cool, huh? **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto, and I don't own Dragon Ball Z either. They're just…too awesome for me. **

**CHAPTER 5: Son Goku the Yonbi**

"Hello? Son Goku?"

Roushi was already meditating on the plateau with the jinchuuriki and Jiraiya, but he was already in his mindscape. He found himself on rocky flat mountainous terrain, like a country devastated without plants or water. He walked through the rocks and tall mountains, calling his Bijuu's name to no avail. No growl, roar or sound, for that matter, echoed through the land. Roushi looked around. All here was with him were the flat dry rocky ground, the mountains around him, and the sound of empty wind. He sighed and just hopelessly trudged to one of the mountains.

Son Goku and he were linked. Not just by bounds of chakra, but by bonds of…of…_something_. Roushi knew that the Bijuu wouldn't just abandon him like that. But was there a sound or reply to his shouts? No.

Roushi stood on the peak of one of the mountains, which was part of a circle chain of a mountain range. He looked at the entire landscape. No beast, no person, no…nothing. Roushi sighed. It was hopeless. His Bijuu wouldn't talk to him anyway. He probably knew that Roushi was going to ask him to join The Shouri, and he would just avoid it by not talking to him. How great.

All of a sudden, that changed. Roushi felt some large chakra mass behind him, right in the center of the mountain range circle. He saw a shadow rise up in front of him, larger than any of the mountains. In fact, Roushi even started to think that this mountain range circle was supposed to act as some cage, for something obviously powerful and huge. Roushi sighed, letting all of his tension out, and turned to face what was behind him. He could not believe what he was seeing.

"S-Son Goku?"

A large gorilla with red fur and light green skin was facing Roushi eye to eye. It had two long horns on its head and two large fangs sprouting out of its large mouth with both them having blackened ends. It had yellow eyes with white pupils, and they looked intensely at the Iwa shinobi. The four tails that swooshed around actively had horn-like protrusions on them. Even the face of the beast was so huge that Roushi was nearly the height of one of its eyes.

"Yes, it's me," the Bijuu replied hastily. "Who else would it be?"

"Oh," Roushi said, regaining his courage little by little. "I'm sorry then."

The beast grunted. "Hmph, when did_ you _start saying sorry to me like that?"

Roushi couldn't help but be confused. "What?"

Son Goku sighed. "Forget it. Well, why are you talking to me? You rarely talk to me nowadays."

"Well, it's hard to explain," Roushi said. "We were traveling around the Ninja World—"

"'We?'" Son Goku interrupted. "What 'we' are we talking about here?"

"I thought you knew," Roushi said curiously. "You know, the jinchuuriki team up? The Shouri?"

"The Shouri?" Son Goku seemed like he didn't know anything.

"Yes, The Shouri. The jinchuuriki group up and fight against the Akastuki."

"The jinchuuriki?"

"Yeah, and I ask of you to cooperate with The Shouri and fight the Akatsuki."

Son Goku gave a soft growl. "If the jinchuuriki group up, doesn't that mean the Bijuu'll have to group up too?"

Roushi didn't really know the answer to that. "I'm not sure, but I think so."

Son Goku growled and moved away a little from Roushi, as if there was something terrifying inside the jinchuuriki. "Why do I have to group up with _them_, especially that proud good-for-nothing Kyuubi?"

_Naruto…he's the Kyuubi jinchuuriki..._ The name rung in Roushi's mind. _I don't understand. The Ichibi hates the Kyuubi, and now the Yonbi hates him too. What's wrong with him? _"You don't have to think of it as grouping up with him," Roushi said aloud, trying to steer the Bijuu back in his direction. "Just think of it as helping me and giving me your chakra so that we can defeat the Akatsuki."

Son Goku seemed more intrigued, and brought his face closer to Roushi. The closer the Bijuu was to him, the hotter the atmosphere around him was. "That seems like a better way of putting it, but it still doesn't drive me away from the fact that the _Kyuubi _will be there too. I'm still not convinced of joining The Shouri."

Roushi clenched his teeth. This Kyuubi was getting on the nerves of everybody, even him. He _really _had to talk this with Naruto once he was done. "Well," Roushi said. "I hope you join someday. I really need your help."

The Bijuu lowered its head, and Roushi could see his face in its yellow eyes. "Well well well, the proud Roushi finally submits to his losses and depends on me for help. How nice."

Roushi's eyes narrowed and he crossed his arms. "You should understand I'm doing this for the world and for _you too_, Son Goku. If we don't succeed, and you end up in the hands of the Akatsuki…" Roushi trailed off. He would die…he knew. And Son Goku…

The Bijuu stayed silent.

Roushi put his arms at his side. "You don't want that to happen, don't you?"

"I know," Son Goku retorted. "I don't want it to happen to me. But I still can't trust you yet. For now, my answer's a no."

Roushi sighed. How terrific.

"But, who knows?" the beast continued. "Maybe my answer will turn into a yes someday."

Roushi couldn't help but smile at his BIjuu. "Thank you, Son Goku."

The Bijuu nodded at him. "Give my regards to the jinchuuriki. I wish you good luck."

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Yagura woke up.

He was inside a dark room only lit by the red lanterns hung on the dingy concrete walls. He tried to move his arms and feet, but he was bound by metal cuffs which were chained to the floor. He pulled his arms and yanked his feet, but no matter how much he struggled, he couldn't escape. Every time he moved, it hurt because of the small scars he previously got from the needles. He even wondered where his staff was. He could see the outline of a metal door ahead of him, and the sound of two voices conversing.

"Give me feedback on the other hunter-nin team," the voice of a woman spoke.

"They were sent on another mission," the voice of a young male said. "To retrieve the jinchuuriki Utakata."

"Was it successful?"

"No, milady, another failed mission."

The woman sighed. "Fine then, we might as well give all of them a break. Abort the other missions targeting Utakata. Might as well give this other jinchuuriki a small chat then. Hand me the keys."

"Yes, milady."

Yagura felt more nervous than he already was before. _He _was the "other jinchuuriki". And whoever this woman was, she wasn't one to mess with. The man she spoke to seemed like one of the hunter-nin that captured him, and he started talking to her with such admirable respect. Wait. Won't that mean that she was...

_Yagura,_ Isobu spoke. _Keep yourself together. You can't afford to faint again. _

"_I know," _Yagura replied. _"But did you do it?" _

_Yes. I did it successfully. _

"_Did you forget to heal?" _

_No, but I couldn't. I'm trying. _

Yagura sighed. _"Thank you, Isobu." _

There was a sound of lock meeting key, and then the metal door opened with a raucous creak. A tall figure stepped in then closed the door behind itself. Yagura couldn't see who the figure was because of the darkness and the red light that didn't shine on it. Yagura tried to squint and see who it was but he couldn't because of the pain near his eyes preventing him.

"Ah," the woman's voice said. "May I ask you to introduce yourself for proper acquaintance?"

"I…" Yagura struggled to talk, but his wheezes were accompanied by his vain attempts to escape and the sound of chains rattling against each other. "I am Yagura, the Yondaime Mizukage. And...and I demand to know who _you_ are."

The voice chuckled. "If you say so,."

The figure stepped into the dim light, just in front of Yagura. She was a tall beautiful slender woman with green eyes and pink lipstick. Her ankle-length auburn hair was spiky and framed her face in a curvy fashion, even covering her right eye; two long spires of hair from each side of her face even met at her breastbone, and she had a top-knot tied with dark blue band. She also wore a long-sleeved dark blue dress that stops just after it passes mid-calf length. The top of the dress was mesh, and it bore her shoulders and her neck skin, covering her chest and the top of her arms. Her dress was closed with a diagonal zipper on her chest and opened from the right side of her waist all the way down. She wore a darker blue skirt and more mesh covered her legs. She wore a belt with a pouch and high-heeled knee-high shinobi sandals, and she also had her fingernails painted the same shade of her dress. All in all, she seemed to be a figure as important and gorgeous as she was dangerous.

"I feel pleased to be acquainted with my predecessor," the woman replied with a small smile. "I'm the Godaime Mizukage. I'm Terumi Mei."

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It was late night. The moon shone full and high. Gaara was leaning on his unstrapped gourd and sitting on a bough in the Land of Fire's forests, eating some of the meat that he kept when he was in the bath-house. He couldn't really help and wonder where the jinchuuurki were, and what they were doing now.

They were probably done with Roushi. And next was Han. Gaara didn't really get to know the silent fellow that well. He just guessed that the Yonbi agreed to it slightly, like Shukaku did, and he assumed that the Gobi would agree to it fully. He had already sent his message to Suna via tagged bird. They should already know that he was coming.

Since Gaara also suffered lack of sleep, he was free to travel to Suna both day and night. So once he was done eating half of the meat, he kept it, stood up from the bough and strapped on his gourd to his back. He was about to dash off when he heard rustling coming from behind him.

Gaara looked at the foliage at his back, but apparently, there was no sign of intruders or ambushes. All he could hear then was the cries of the cicadas, the night song of the crickets, hooting of hunting owls, and nothing more. Was it just his imagination, or just probably some rat hidden in the bushes?

Either way, Gaara wasn't going to let something as petty and small as _that_ stop him from getting to Suna. He sighed and sped off, going more and more southwest of his location towards his home.

He knew that he had to keep his guard up at all costs. He was a lone jinchuuriki, and who knows what terrors fate had planned for him.


	7. Kokuou the Gobi

**CHAPTER 6: Kokuou the Gobi**

**Hello, everyone. I noticed that this story's going great, eh? **

**This was hard to write, considering the fact that both Kokuou and Han are silent and broody and whatnot; it was hard to sculpt something from the two. And for some weird reason, while I wrote this, I felt like crying. I didn't know why, I just felt pretty sad. **

**Anyway, other than that, the missing jinchuuriki will have more frequent appearances as we get closer to Naruto's "Jinchu-Bijuu consultation". I also like to put my emphasis on Yagura, since you'll see a little surprise later on with him. But you won't see him here though. I have to time it correctly, or something might screw up. **

**Naruto WILL get his spotlight moment. Just wait for it. If you're pretty worn out on this consultation thing (like I am), don't worry. After Naruto talks to Kurama, the fun and training and battles start. **

**Oh, and an interesting debut will make its place here. Other than a student-and-master relationship, there'd be another one. Waiting for the fangirl screams that will happen in 3…2…1…**

**Disclaimer: I don't own anything or anyone here, that's final. **

**CHAPTER 6: Kokuou the Gobi**

Finding Han's Bijuu place was quicker than everyone thought it would be.

The jinchuuriki and the Sage stopped at a forest near the Land of Lightning border with the Land of Fire. Jiraiya sensed a calming in Han's chakra, and he figured out that it was the place. That was pretty fast. Night didn't even fall yet, and right after Roushi, it was Han on the same day. Jiraiya was impressed. The Iwa jinchuuriki _did _work fast.

The jinchuuriki were sitting in the trees while Jiraiya sat in front of a meditating Han. Naruto sat nonchalantly on a bough while the others sat on separate branches near him. The breezes that past where calming and serene, and there were many things going on in the young shinobi's mind. He started thinking of all that happened in the time span of all these days. Just after he went on a mission to Yugakure, all of a sudden, all the jinchuuriki were there, all of them on a fate-of-the-world mission that none of them signed up for. And it was anything but a mission. It was a quest.

"Hey, are you okay, Naruto?" Fuu asked all of a sudden, knocking him out of daze.

"Oh, yeah," Naruto said. "I'm fine."

"Well, you don't look fine, boy," Roushi asked. "What's wrong?"

"Uh, it's just," Naruto was unsure of what to say, so he kept scratching the back of his neck. "Y'know…have you ever thought of why it's us? Why it's jinchuuriki of all the shinobi in the world to fight the Akatsuki? I mean, did we even have a choice?"

Roushi stayed silent. "Well, if it isn't us, who else would it be? We're the only ones who can fight them. And besides, the Bijuu inside us have to be at good use too. They can't just stay locked inside us forever."

Naruto stayed silent. "Yeah…that's easy for you to say. The Kyuubi's always been harsh on me, ever since I was a kid. He never listens to me."

Fuu tried to keep Naruto optimistic. "Well, who knows? Yeah, he's probably going to decline on The Shouri, but you might build a bond through this quest! You might become friends."

Naruto gave a grin before his attention was caught by Yugito's question.

"Hey, Roushi," she asked. "Why is Han always so…silent?"

"Yeah," Naruto continued. "It's always so weird and awkward standing next to him. He's so quiet. Did anything happen to him or something?"

Roushi looked just as confused as all the jinchuuriki. "I don't know either. He's always been silent, ever since I met him. I don't know why."

Fuu looked at the Gobi jinchuuriki curiously. "He's one mysterious guy."

"Yeah…" Naruto said, following the jinchuurikis' gaze on Han. His eyes were closed and the tag on his forehead. Who knows what secrets his Bijuu and him were talking about.

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Han was in a green field. It was daytime in his mindscape, and the sun was over his head directly indicating noon. The grass under his feet was vibrant and full of life, swaying in the calm breeze. No tree was in sight. It was just a plain of grass for miles and miles away. He looked directly ahead, but he didn't look back. He just trudged forward on the grass, looking for his Bijuu.

_Where could you be? _he thought. _Kokuou? _

There was a sound of a long loud rusty groan behind him, something like a deep dolphin cry with a little horse neigh mixed into it, similar the deep sound of a broken trumpet. Han didn't move. He didn't stir. He didn't feel anything. The ground vibrated a little, but Han didn't feel fear. He nonchalantly turned around and came face to face with his Bijuu.

There were large wooden trees without leaves that sprouted out of the ground and were wound in braids to form a cage knotted at the top. It was generally big and with a few leaved branches sprouting out of the bars. Inside the cage was a large white horse with a dolphin-like head. It had red markings under its dark bluish-green eyes and four horns atop of its head. Its five tails swished madly in the cage, and some twirled around its bars. The tips of its horns, hooves, and tails were colored a very light brown, with small spots in the same color between the white and the brown. The beast was sitting, with its front and hind legs bent underneath it, and its head held high. Upon sight of its jinchuuriki, it lowered its head to look at Han.

"What is it, Han?" the Bijuu said. "You talk to me rarely now."

"It's hard to explain, Kokuou," Han said. "I think you know what I'm talking about."

Kokuou stayed silent. "I don't know, Han."

Han sighed and tucked his right hand into his kimono. "Never mind. So let me ask you a question. Are you well acquainted with The Shouri?"

"Of course," Kokuou raised its head. "My siblings keep talking about it."

"Your…siblings?"

"The Bijuu, Han. Shukaku, Matatabi, Isobu, and Son Goku. They have told me."

"Isobu?" Han narrowed his eyes. "Who is Isobu?"

"The Sanbi. He knows."

"The Sanbi jinchuuriki…" Han muttered. "The Sanbi jinchuuriki knows?"

"Yes. According to Isobu, he's on his way to you right now."

Han looked intently at Kokuou. "But you _do _know what The Shouri is…don't you?"

"Of course I do. It's a collaboration group of the jinchuuriki to fight the Akatsuki." Kokuou gave a low growl and bared its sharp teeth. "How I _loathe _the Akatsuki."

"Do you wish to join it, Kokuou? You know it will benefit you and me."

"I know. I cannot fully trust all my siblings, especially that prideful Kurama. But for now, my answer will be a yes. I will cooperate with the Shouri."

Han felt relieved. His Bijuu said yes. That was good. "Thank you, Kokuou. You will not be disappointed."

The Bijuu lowered its head even more and looked at Han eye to eye. "Bring salvation, Han. Do not let yourself die at the hands of the Akatsuki. You deserve to die a more heroic death, not one where you will have your Bijuu extracted out of you. It was_ your_ words that inspired the jinchuuriki to push forward with the Shouri. Be strong."

Han hesitated to do this, but he stretched his right hand from his kimono and let it touch the Bijuu's head. His hand looked small against Kokuou's large forehead and it felt like an unusual thing to do, but he felt like doing it. Kokuou said nothing, but let his jinchuuriki hold his fur.

"I know, Kokuou," Han said. "I won't let you down."

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Utakata walked from the forest to the river in the noon forest, packing some fruit he picked earlier into his kimono pockets. Sitting by the river bank with her feet in the water was his "student", Hotaru.

She was a young woman with wavy shoulder-length blond hair. She wore a violet kimono-like shirt with white bordering, black shorts and skirt, same colored boots, and light purple wristbands. Her boots were beside her and she was kicking and splashing the river water with her bare feet. She smiled and giggled at her actions, and she constantly looked at her river reflection that she didn't even notice her "master" was standing behind her.

Utakata cleared his throat, making the girl jolt up in surprise. "Hotaru?"

The girl nervously dragged her wet feet out of the river and sat in front of her teacher as she bowed. "Master," she said.

Utakata sighed exasperated. "How many times do I have to tell you that you shouldn't call me 'master'?"

"I'm sorry, Master," Hotaru said politely. "It would be disrespectful to not call you by anything else. I _insist_ that I call you by that."

"Ugh, fine," Utakata said. Hotaru was hastily about to put on her boots but she stoped when he said, "You don't have to put on your shoes just yet, unless you want them wet on your dire efforts." After he said this he nonchalantly walked on the water until he was midway through the river.

Hotaru sighed. "Master, why don't you have confidence in me? I said I could do it."

"Really?" Utakata said as he pulled a fruit from his kimono. "Here's a peach. If you could walk on the water properly like I taught you, you'll get a lot more of these."

Hotaru gasped happily at the sight of the peach. "Peaches! I _love _peaches! How did you know?"

"I didn't," Utakata held out the peach. "Lucky guess. Now, if you can grab this peach from my hand by walking on the water, you can eat all of the ones I picked. I think I got a dozen." Utakata smirked at the sight of Hotaru's excited face. "And if you don't, well, we'll let the water decide."

Hotaru nodded. "I'll show you, Master. I can do it."

Hotaru left her boots at the bank and looked at the water scared. She really knew that she couldn't do it, but she had to try. She had to prove her master wrong. She looked at her nervous rippled expression in the river and tried to channel all her chakra into her feet. She took a step forward and just couldn't do it. But it was too late.

She fell with a splash into the shallow river water.

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A young man sat on a tree bough, nonchalantly leaning on the trunk and gazing into the late sunset. The breezes ruffled the white kimono-like long-sleeved shirt that bore his chest and the blue cloth tied at his waist. He held a sword in his right hand, flicking his wrist lazily.

"Sasuke?"

The young boy looked down to see a pale old man with long black hair and white clothes looking up at him. Sasuke looked down at him just to look back at his comforting sunset. "What do you want, Orochimaru?"

"I just wanted to inform you about something," the Sennin hissed. "Something rather…well…interesting."

Sasuke did not stir. "Well, tell me then."

Orochimaru chuckled. "I'm sure you know who the jinchuuriki are, right?"

Sasuke's mind flashed back to Naruto. He remembered that fight at the Valley, that coat of red chakra around Naruto, that immense power he never knew he had… "What of them?"

"Well, they've formed a group. They've christened themselves 'The Shouri' and their ultimate goal is to defeat the Akatsuki. Isn't that nice?"

Sasuke stayed silent then said, "How does useless information about the jinchuuriki benefit me?"

"You don't really seem to understand, boy." Here Orochimaru crossed his arms. "They're the closest you could get to the Akatsuki, and the closer you are to them, the closer you are to your brother…."

Sasuke's eyes widened. Of course. Why didn't he see it before? Naruto was a jinchuurki, so he would be part of The Shouri, right? He was a loud naïve idiot who would warmly welcome him into his company. And once The Shouri would lead Sasuke to Itachi, he would slaughter them all. It was foolproof. It was absolutely brilliant.

"I'll find them," Sasuke said. "I'll let them lead me to Itachi and then kill them all."

Orochimaru clicked his tongue. "That plan would backfire in more ways than one. They won't go to the Akatsuki right away because they're training. And they're jinchuuriki. You're underestimating them."

Sasuke blinked and didn't move. "Well then, I'll _wait_ for them to go to the Akatsuki. And don't whine about me underestimating them, you're underestimating _me _as well."

Orochimaru sighed. "I hope you know what you're doing, Sasuke…"

Sasuke stayed silent and heard Orochimaru's footsteps leave him. As he watched the sun set, he knew that he would do anything, absolutely _anything _to take revenge on his brother, even if it meant fighting all nine jinchuuriki at once.


End file.
